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WATERING THE IMAGINATION ILLUSTRATION BY DIRIYE OSMAN The first draft illustration for my short story, ‘Watering The Imagination’. The story is about a Somali mother who grows to not only accept her daughter’s sexuality but also learns to support and respect her. One of my favourite pieces from my upcoming short story collection ‘Fairytales For Lost Children,’ which focuses on the lives of gay and lesbian Somalis. Here’s a tiny extract: ‘In Somali culture, many things go unsaid: how we love, who we love and why we love that way. I don’t know why Suldana loves the way she does. I don’t know why she loves who she does. But I do know that by respecting her privacy I am letting her dream in a way that my generation was not capable of. I’m letting her reach for something neither one of us can articulate.’  

WATERING THE IMAGINATION ILLUSTRATION

BY DIRIYE OSMAN

The first draft illustration for my short story, ‘Watering The Imagination’. The story is about a Somali mother who grows to not only accept her daughter’s sexuality but also learns to support and respect her. One of my favourite pieces from my upcoming short story collection ‘Fairytales For Lost Children,’ which focuses on the lives of gay and lesbian Somalis.

Here’s a tiny extract:

‘In Somali culture, many things go unsaid: how we love, who we love and why we love that way. I don’t know why Suldana loves the way she does. I don’t know why she loves who she does. But I do know that by respecting her privacy I am letting her dream in a way that my generation was not capable of. I’m letting her reach for something neither one of us can articulate.’