Ladan Osman facts for kids

Ladan Osman is an amazing poet and teacher from Somalia and America. Her poems often talk about her Somali background and her Muslim faith. Many important magazines have published her work. In 2014, she won a big award called the Sillerman First Book Prize for her book of poems, The Kitchen Dweller's Testimony.

About Ladan Osman

Ladan Osman was born in Mogadishu, Somalia. She grew up in Columbus, Ohio, in the United States.

After high school, she went to Otterbein University. There, she earned a BA degree. This is a Bachelor of Arts, a common first college degree.

She later studied at the University of Texas at Austin. She attended the Michener Center for Writers. Here, she earned an MFA degree, which is a Master of Fine Arts. This is a special degree for writers.

Ladan Osman has also received special awards called fellowships. These came from places like the Fine Arts Work Center. Fellowships help artists and writers focus on their work.

As of 2014, she lives in Chicago.

Ladan Osman's Career as a Poet

Ladan Osman works as a teacher. She also shares her amazing poetry with the world.

Her poems have been in many well-known magazines. Some of these include Narrative Magazine and Prairie Schooner. Her work has even appeared in a newspaper column. This column, "American Life in Poetry," was run by a former US Poet Laureate, Ted Kooser.

Ladan Osman's poetry is deeply shaped by her heritage. She writes about her Somali roots and her Islamic faith. Another Somali writer, Nuruddin Farah, is a big inspiration for her.

She also looks up to other famous poets. These include the Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish. She also admires the Sudanese writer Tayeb Salih. American poets like Sherman Alexie and Gwendolyn Brooks also inspire her.

In March 2014, she released a small book of poems called Ordinary Heaven. Her first full-length book was The Kitchen-Dweller's Testimony. It came out in 2015. This book won the Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets.

Awards and Recognition

In February 2014, Ladan Osman won a major award. It was the annual Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets. She won it for her collection of poems, The Kitchen Dweller's Testimony.

This award came with $1000. It also meant her poetry book would be published. The University of Nebraska Press published her book. They worked with Amalion Press to do this.