"Writing Is My Social Activism” – A Conversation with Fartumo Kusow

Born in Somalia, Fartumo Kusow immigrated to Canada in 1991, at the start of the civil war. After arriving in Canada with fluency in Somali and Arabic but with no knowledge of English, she went on to earn an Honours B.A. in English Language and Literature and a Bachelor of Education from the University of Windsor. She is now a high school English teacher for the Greater Essex County District School Board. Her first novel, Amran, was published in 1984 in Somalia. Her second novel, Tale of a Boon’s Wife, was published in 2017 by Second Story Press, and is her debut novel in English. Set in the fifteen-year period before Somalia’s civil war, Tale of a Boon’s Wife focuses on a young Somali woman whose decision to marry the man she loves, in defiance of tradition and her family’s wishes, transforms her life in very difficult ways. The novel has received positive reviews. Fartumo Kusow is a mother of five and lives in Windsor, Ontario.https://secondstorypress.ca/adult/tale-of-a-boons-wifeCheck out the short version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/O3AiWTNKoH8