"This is a fascinating and unusual collection that deserves attention." —Bloomsbury Review

" . . . this anthology of poetry is a breath of fresh air. It provides the reader with the means of gaining a deeper insight into Somali life through what is to the Somalis their most important cultural form, namely, poetry." —Bulletin of the School of Irental & African Studies

"This affordable and beautifully produced book is a small jewel in the field of Somali studies, as it is the fruit of over forty years of dedicated linguistic and literary scholarship by one of the most thorough and accurate translators and analysts of Somali poetry, B. W. Andrzejewski." —International Journal of African Historical Studies

Somalia has been called "a nation of poets." This volume makes available in beautiful English translation the very best, and most universal, of Somali poetry, from the 19th century to the present. With appendixes covering the oral and written medium, the pronunciation of Somali words, alliteration and scansion, selected bibliography, and sources.