«Anyone who has come into contact with Somali culture will be aware of the central role poetry plays in that culture», Martin Orwin has said. He wrote his PhD on the Somali language, and teaches Somali, Somali literature and poetry at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. Orwin has translated Somali poetry and worked closely with several Somali poets, such as Gaarriye and Hadraawi. In this lecture, he will give an introduction to Somali poetry and literature, and the oral story tradition.