Jumblies Theatre
Press Release

Jumblies Theatre is proud to announce the publication of And Then She Said, Saa Waxay Tiri: The Poetry and Times of Hawa Jibril

And Then She Said is a collection of oral poetry by world-renowned Somali poet Hawa Jibril, an 88-year old Somali refugee now living in a Toronto Community Housing building in Etobicoke. The poetry is transcribed and translated into English for the first time by Hawa’s daughter Faduma Ahmed Alim. The publication includes both the Somali and English versions of the poems, a narrative in Somali and English about Hawa’s work, life and times by Faduma, 8 pages of photos and illustrations by Ruth Howard.

The 41 poems span 75 years and the personal and political realms. They chronicle the remarkable life of Hawa: her youth in nomadic society, her refusal to tolerate an abusive marriage, her country’s struggle for independence and women’s rights, issues of female genital mutilation, qat-smoking and political curruption, her flight from civil war, aging, disillusion, hope for peace, and life as a refugee in Canada.

The book is published by Jumblies Theatre, with support from Toronto Community Housing, and printed at Coach House Press. It grows from a 4-year  relationship between Faduma Ahmed Alim and Jumblies’ Artistic Director, Ruth Howard. Jumblies Theatre’s acclaimed Bridge of One Hair, which featured many Etobicoke residents and premiered at Harbourfront Centre’s New World Stage in April 2007, was based on Hawa Jibril’s poetry and life story.