Abdullahi Aress Mohamed feels blessed to be steeped in various cultural & literary traditions, including the African, Eastern and Western, giving him a unique vantage position to observe and write. He tries to bring these disparate worlds to conversation, situate himself and his milieu in the world.  

Robert Frost remarked ed that all poetry begins with “a lump in the throat.” Abdullahi’s main instinct to write therefore stems from the socio-political context of his background. He writes lyrically to tell, among other subjects, the heartrending, rarely-published stories of what it means to live in the Horn of Africa and specifically the Northeastern region of Kenya where he hails from. His deeply affecting fiction and nonfiction centers people, places and experiences excluded from mainstream narratives. His writing however is a way to imagine, to purge, to confront, to discomfit and to cause catharsis, if not healing.

Abdullahi hails from a region that has not produced many writers. Stories are therefore not being told—especially in the written form. He feels, therefore, somewhat burdened but blessed to be a writer, at this moment in time. Writing our stories is important, not just for practical reasons, but on a human level too. Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad says, “Words are almost sacred things, because words, sounds have to do with breath, and can go deeper in us than the retina can ever do.”

Abdullahi was born and raised in Garissa, Kenya. He graduated with a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Writing from Washington University in St. Louis USA in 2023 with a 4.0 G.P.A, where he taught Creative Writing classes for a year. He currently works as an immigration law clerk and interpreter in Minneapolis, USA.

Previously, he studied Law and worked in human rights/legal advocacy in Kenya, advocating for the rights of refugees and asylum seekers as well citizens who had grievances against government offices. He also loves photography and is fascinated by the beauty of ordinary landscapes and faces and the possibility of artistic beauty in unexpected places. (The images used in this website are all his own). He is interested in exploring the ways in which the mediums of writing, editing, content management systems and photography can come together to create more possibilities in storytelling to bring in the Horn of Africa. Ultimately, he wishes to work in a role that combines his various skills to advocate for the interest of vulnerable populations. 

Abdullahi Aress’s work has appeared or is forthcoming in: Lolwe, The New Contrast, down river road, Inklette, The Kalahari Review, The Northerner Magazine, Ellipsis & Debunked among others. Some of his favorite writers include Rilke, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Zadie Smith, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, James Baldwin, Susan Sontag, Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor, Teju Cole and Steven Dunn. He ran a successful blog from 2016 to 2019 which opened readers to the experiences of Kenyan Somalis to and which drew a large readership. One of his stories has been nominated for the Caine Prize of African Writing 2024 and he is working on his first book. 

He has participated in various writing workshops. He enjoys reading, soccer, travel, podcasts, nature walks and stand up comedy.