The circles of poetry being read, the moments of celebration and the countless words that are exchanged through generations and community: Somalia has long been known as the Nation of Poets—a country where poetry is woven into the fabric of society. Before the civil war that took place in the 1990s, deep into a dictatorship, and before Somalia was ever touched by European colonization and Western influence, poetry existed. The Gaas Collective, a Seattle-based literary nonprofit and publisher, hopes to revitalize Somalia’s ancestral tradition of celebrating poetry, both within and outside the country.
Poetry was a form of communication between tribes and groups, to resolve disagreements or to express oneself through the words chosen. For a long time, Somalia had an oral tradition in which many stories, and experiences were communicated through poetry. Each tribe had a designated poet whom the tribal leader would use to speak with another tribe’s poet through the poetry they would orate.
Ibrahim Hirsi is a writer, archivist and editor at Journal Gobanimo. He is also co-founder of Koor Archives and is currently working on his first monograph, which explores the metre of southern Somali poetic forms. His work has been published in The Poetry Review, Modern Poetry in Translation, PBLJ and the anthology “Before Them,” “We (Flipped Eye, 2022).” Hirsi spent a lot of time chronicling how Somali poetry played an integral part in the makeup of Somalia’s history. Real Change asked Hirsi what role his research showed Somali poetry play in Somalia’s cultural and political landscape.
“Before the civil war, poetry in Somalia functioned as a method of knowledge production. It was used across many contexts, such as the social, political and efconomic, but always returned to the same core purpose: expressing thought and emotions. Poetry appeared in everyday labor, such as mat-weaving songs. These work songs were both directly in conversation with the work and concerned [with] the composer or performer’s thoughts and feelings about wider topics. In this way, everyone was both a performer and a composer of poetry, although socially they may not have been given that title. Poetry in general served to articulate grievances, hold leaders accountable, record history, transmit folktales and preserve traditional wisdom.” Hirisi said.
Poetry debates were held, in which each chosen poet would orate a poetic narrative until there was anything left to say and until a winner was declared, and the opposing team would forfeit. Instead of using violence to settle disputes, poetry debates communicated effectively with and between groups, because the poets had the gift of expressing words that were on the hearts of many.
Nowadays, Somali poetry is celebrated throughout the diaspora and in Somalia. Millions of Somalis, both in the West and back in Somalia, practice poetry in whatever capacity and form they could convey in it.
Najib Abbi, the founder of the Gaas Collective, named the collective after his paternal great-grandfather, Mohamad Gaas, a revered Somali poet. Throughout Abbi’s life, his parents taught him the importance of Somali culture and the beauty of it’s traditions, such as poetry. Abbi’s dad told him stories about his grandfather, whom Ali never met, yet a giant figure and inspiration in his life. Naming the collective after him was a way for Abbi to memorialize his grandfather’s legacy while also continuing cultural practices that were integral to Somalis and bring them into the rest of the world.
“The Somali tradition of poetry inspired [the Gaas Collective], how people come together during times of war, and they discuss their problems through poetry, how they maintain the history and the lineages, and preserve stories through poetry,” Abbi said.
Ever since its conception, the Gaas Collective has hosted poetry workshops. He has led poetry workshops in partnership with community organizations such as the East African Community Services and Hugo House. The Gaas Collective has also published poetry by many writers on its website, as well as a poetry book that was released in October 2025.
The book, titled “Mandeeq,” was an anthology of original poems sourced from all over the world, including Seattle. A Somali phrase that inspired the book goes as follows:
“Maandeeq waala kala boobay, mid walba meel buu la aaday.”
“Maandeeq has been looted; each took her to a separate place.”
Abbi said that the phrase inspired him to bring together the various experiences of the Somali diaspora in Germany, Australia and the U.S. We all have diverse experiences, but a single art form unites us. The book was assembled across five months, from 30 poems submitted by 25 poets. He carefully divided each poem into sections to follow an overall theme of self-expression.
“So there’s a part in the beginning where everyone talks about their grievances, so just a bunch of different poems that talk about the problems that so many people go through, and the difficulties that we face,” Abbi said. “The second part is more about, like, life experiences, both positive and negative. Then the last part is about people offering their solutions. I guess it’s the best way to put it. It’s like people sharing their ideas or what they think is best to solve the problems discussed in the first part. And it’s funny, because it kind of formed itself.”
As an editor and publisher, Abbi was committed to conveying contributing poets’work and exploring themes central to all of us, not just some of us. He understands how universal poetry is and how vital it is in our human expression.
“I want to bring together anthologies and collections of poetry that cover all different topics,” Abbi said. “I feel like the first one had to be Somali because of the Gaas Collective’s Somali inspiration. But I want to broaden [these]collections. I want to make immigrant collections of poetry, just discover all the different themes and experiences of people that have,” he continued.
Abbi worked closely with the writers to publish all their work since sharing any piece of writing is a very intimate and vulnerable thing. But Abbi saw firsthand what it meant to them, with some of the poets saying that they don’t often put out work, but when they saw the call for work that he put out through the Gaas Collective, they knew they needed to contribute. Abbi understands that it is our responsibility to preserve our history while also documenting the everyday Somali experience.
“I want to put people’s poetry out there, like people that have something to say, people that have stuff to offer that can bring about change. It was interesting to talk to them and see what their experiences were like [and] what inspired them to write the poems that they wrote,” Abbi said.
Abbi started the collective because he noticed a gap in poets in the literary community, and he didn’t see people like him sharing their work.
“I shared poetry at some events originally, and put my stuff out there. I have never liked putting myself out there like that, I don’t want to look back years from now, feel like, ‘why didn’t I do it?’” he said. “So I just decided to do it. But [by] doing that, I saw a bunch of Somali and East African poets. People who have poetry, that just sits in their Notes app or on their phone, but it’s really, really good stuff, and I don’t know […] that’s what made me want to do that in the Seattle area.”
So much of the work he does is done through conversation, the many words he shares with his elders, his parents and the writers that he chooses to collaborate with.
Hearing the stories of people around you can bring so much enlightenment. Abbi knew how important this was in his work because it allowed him to expand his perspective and gave him a bigger picture of what life was like in Somalia and here.
“I feel like a lot can be learned in conversation,” he said. “I talked to Somali elders, like, outside of my family, and I feel like that gives me a complete picture of what the Somali stories look like. And then from there, When it’s written on paper, I understand where it comes from, after having conversations with the poet and the elders from my community.”
“Mandeeq” featured 25 poets such as Sumaya Mohamed from the UK, Isha Hussein from Seattle and Hassen Beynah and many more.
Hassan Beynah, a young local poet, was among the many writers featured in “Mandeeq,” with their work “Constant Hunger.”
Abbi met Beynah during a performance held by the Somali Students Association on the University of Washington Tacoma campus. Discovering a shared love of poetry, Abbi asked Beynah if he would be interested in sharing one of his poems through the collective, and through that opportunity, he was able to.
Beynah’s inspiration for his poetry came from his late father. His father lived during a time when Somali poetry was vibrant.
“My dad retained it and would always hum poetry throughout our home. He always had it on the tip of his tongue,” Beynah said. “After his passing, I started writing as a way to express myself and feel closer to him.”
Beynah carried on his father’s legacy through his poetry because he knew how easily history and traditions can be lost. He understood that through his writing, he could not only continue his father’s memory but also move through the grief of losing a living archive.
“My poetry represents some of the last memories I have with my father, and I hope to place him at the center of my writing as I continue to create. My memories of him and his life will be a motivator of why I’ll keep writing till I can’t.”
This story was originally published in Real Change News. It has been republished as part of a collaborative partnership between RCN and RIZE. The partnership seeks to boost arts coverage of communities of color and culture in the PNW.