Ladan Osman

Biography

Ladan Osman was born in Mogadishu, Somalia, and raised in Columbus, Ohio. She authored Exiles of Eden (2019), a collection examining displacement and alienation, notably among refugees. Her collection The Kitchen-Dweller's Testimony, which examines the limitations of space, imagination, and capacities, won the Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets in 2014. She earned a bachelor's degree from Otterbein College and a master of fine arts from the University of Texas at Austin's Michener Center for Writers. A Pushcart nominee, she has received fellowships from the Lannan Foundation, Cave Canem, the Michener Center, and the Fine Arts Work Center. She received the 2021 Whiting Award.

Place of Birth

Somali, American

Country of Nationality

Somalia

Languages Spoken

English, Somali

Otterbein University, University of Texas, Austin

Poems

The Bee’s Gospel
The Kitchen-Dweller’s Interlude
Ordinary Heaven
Tonight
The Key
Boat Journey
Let Us Have the Same Dream Tonight

Poetry Collections

Ordinary Heaven: New Generation African Poets (2014) Slapering Hol Press, Sleepy Hollow, NY;
The Kitchen-Dweller’s Testimony (2015) University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, Nebraska;
Exiles of Eden (2019) Coffee House Press, Minneapolis, MN

Speeches, Lectures, Interviews, Performances / Critical Articles, Media

“2017 Neustadt Festival Poetry Readings: Ladan Osman, November 8, 2017.” YouTube:

“Ladan Osman Reading.” Otterbein University, Frank Museum of Art. Westerville, OH. March 23, 2018. YouTube:

“Words and Inspirations with Ladan Osman. WanaWana Udobang, December 5, 2016.” YouTube:

Sources

Dueben, Alex. “Good Literary Citizens: An Interview with Ladan Osman.” The Paris Review, 13 July 2015, www.theparisreview.org/blog/2015/07/13/good-literary-citizens-an-interview-with-ladan-osman/. Accessed 21 April 2022.
 
“Ladan Osman.” Blue Flower Arts, https://blueflowerarts.com/artist/ladan-osman/. Accessed 14 May 2022.
 
“Ladan Osman.” Ladan Osman Official Website, https://www.ladanosman.com/. Accessed 14 May 2022.
 
“Ladan Osman.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 4 November 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladan_Osman. Accessed 16 November 2024.