Poetry
Khamsine
Not translated into English
William J. F. Syad · 1959
Synopsis
A seventy-page collection of poems, written in French and English, with a preface by Léopold Sédar Senghor. Hibo Moumin Assoweh evokes the sweetness of Syad's verses, scented with jasmine; the poems of this collection, the first book by a writer from Djibouti, are not otherwise known.
Context
Published in Paris by Présence africaine in 1959, with a preface by Léopold Sédar Senghor, the collection opened a period of nearly ten years during which its author remained, according to Hibo Moumin Assoweh in the Finnish journal Afrikan Sarvi, the only writer associated with Djibouti. The 1980s then saw the publication of only one Djiboutian book in French, Omar Osman Rabeh's autobiographical book, in 1986, before a new generation appeared.
Who it is for
A slim bilingual collection, the first book published by an author from the country; no translation has been found.
Prizes and reception
Afrikan Sarvi sees it as the starting point of Djiboutian literature in French, in 1959.