Writer to Writer with Marian Hassan and Ahmed Ismail Yusuf

Writer to Writer is a series featuring conversations between BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) writers.

In Somali pastoral tradition, a genre of writing that depicts an idealized rural life, language is the richest possession – carried like water, full of poetry, memory, and heritage. Join Somali American writers Marian Hassan and Ahmed Ismail Yusuf in a conversation of how their writing is a way to remember, resist, and make meaning of stories shaped by migration, tradition, and the shadow of war.

They will explore language as both a bridge and barrier and discuss the challenges of transferring fragmented oral stories to the page, balancing truth with craft, and searching for home in memory and language. Q&A session to follow. Collaborator: More Than a Single Story. This program is funded with money from Minnesota’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

This is a virtual event please Register here

Panelist Bios:

Marian Hassan is a writer, educator, third culture adult, and advocate for bi-literacy and educational equity. Her work focuses on creating inclusive learning materials that honor students’ heritage languages and cultural identities. Hassan is the author of several bilingual children’s books and the editor of Crossroads: An Anthology of Resilience and Hope, a collection of youth writing.

Ahmed Ismail Yusuf was raised in a nomadic upbringing and is the author of three books: Gorgorkii Yimi, The Lion’s Binding Oath, Somalis in Minnesota, and Maana-faay (translated from Somali into English). Two new books will be released in 2026. He holds a BS in Creative Writing and Psychology from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut and an MPA (Master of Public Affairs) from the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota.