Nuruddin Farah

Nuruddin Farah نورالدين فارح
Farah in 2010 before a lecture at Simon Fraser University.
Born	Nuuradiin Faarax (1945-11-24) 24 November 1945 (age 78) Baidoa, Somalia
Occupation	Novelist, essayist, professor
Alma mater	Panjab University among many
Subject	Nationalism, colonialism, feminism
Notable works	From a Crooked Rib (1970) Sweet and Sour Milk (1979) Maps (1986) Gifts (1993) Secrets (1998)
Notable awards	Kurt Tucholsky Prize, Lettre Ulysses Award, Neustadt International Prize for Literature, Premio Cavour, St. Malo Literature Festival Prize
Spouse	Chitra Muliyil (1982–1992) Amina Mama (1992–2006)
Children	Koshin (born 1983) Abyan (born 1994) Kaahiye (born 1995)

Nuruddin Farah (Somali: Nuuradiin Faarax, Arabic: نورالدين فارح) (born 24 November 1945)^[1] is a Somali novelist. His first novel, From a Crooked Rib, was published in 1970 and has been described as "one of the cornerstones of modern East African literature today".^[2] He has also written plays both for stage and radio, as well as short stories and essays. Since leaving Somalia in the 1970s he has lived and taught in numerous countries, including the United States, Britain, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Sudan, India, Uganda, Nigeria and South Africa.

Farah has garnered acclaim as one of the greatest contemporary writers in the world,^[3] his prose having earned him accolades including the Premio Cavour in Italy, the Kurt Tucholsky Prize in Germany, the Lettre Ulysses Award in Berlin, and in 1998, the prestigious Neustadt International Prize for Literature. In the same year, the French edition of his novel Gifts won the St Malo Literature Festival's prize.^[4] In addition, Farah is a perennial nominee for the Nobel Prize in Literature.^[5]