Usama Al Shahmani

Usama Al Shahmani (born 1971) in an Iraqi-Swiss writer and translator.

Biography

Al Shahmani grew up in Nasiriyah, Iraq. He studied Arabic language and literature at the University of Baghdad before completing a doctorate. His thesis focused on the contemporary poet Mahmud al-Buraykan.

While still completing his doctorate, Al Shahmani wrote a play in 2002 which was performed on the university stage in Basra. It was banned after the third performance, and all those involved were subsequently persecuted by Saddam Hussein's regime. Al Shahmani managed to flee to Switzerland, where he lived in refugee housing for two years and taught himself German.

Al Shahmani now lives in Frauenfeld with his family and works as an interpreter, translator and author.

Publications

Fiction

• Die Fremde – ein seltsamer Lehrmeister: eine Begegnung zwischen Bagdad, Frauenfeld und Berlin. Zürich: Limmat Verlag. 2016.
• In der Fremde sprechen die Bäume arabisch. Zürich: Limmat Verlag. 2018.
• Im Fallen lernt die Feder fliegen. Zürich: Limmat Verlag. 2020.
• Der Vogel zweifelt nicht am Ort, zu dem er fliegt. Zürich: Limmat Verlag. 2022.

Awards

• 2018 Förderpreis der Stadt Frauenfeld
• 2019 Terra Nova-Literaturpreis der Schweizerischen Schillerstiftung
• 2019 Förderpreis des Kanton Thurgau