As the world celebrates Valentine’s day, we key into that spotlight, The Inner World in Cilmi Boodhari’s Love Poetry by Kidist Dorigatti published in Issue 21 of Dhaxalreeb. The article is  a celebration of famous poet Bhoodari’s love poetry and how his writing of it shifted the form from the margins to the centre, making him a spokesperson for social reform and in turn challenging cultural norms.

“The theme of love in Somali poetry is particularly innovative, especially in the work of Boodhari. Prior to his contributions, love was largely treated by the most authoritative and prestigious oral poets as a topic of secondary importance, subordinate to matters of greater public concern. Traditionally, Somali poetry focused on themes such as warfare, peace agreements, politics, commentary on public affairs, religion, and the prestige of one’s clan and so on (Andrzejewski, 1985; Banti, 1988). Love as a subject was relegated to simple songs (Jamal Abdi Gabobe, 2014).”