The Italian Cultural Institute is pleased to announce the visit of Ubah Cristina Ali Farah to South Africa, as part of the Settimana della Lingua Italiana nel Mondo 2026.
Somali and Italian writer and poet, born in Verona and raised in Mogadishu, Ubah Cristina Ali Farah is one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary Italian literature. Her work explores memory, displacement, and belonging across languages and continents. She is the author of three novels: Madre piccola (2007), Il comandante del fiume (2014) and Le stazioni della luna (2021); and the winner of the Premio Lingua Madre (2006) and the Premio Vittorini (2008). A former writer-in-residence at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS), she brings to South Africa a literary voice deeply connected to the African continent.
Over ten days, Ubah Cristina Ali Farah will take part in a series of events across three cities, bringing her work to universities, cultural institutions, and literary venues.
Programme
8–10 October | Poetry Africa
Poetry Africa is an annual international poetry festival curated and presented by the Centre for Creative Arts at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban. The festival brings together spoken word and published poets in performances and dynamic engagements, including panel discussions, campus and school visits, poetry exchanges, book launches, and open mic sessions. In 2026, the festival marks its 30th anniversary and coincides with the World Slam Poetry Competition and Convention.
11 October | Aperitivo Letterario (reading) at the Società Dante Alighieri, Johannesburg
With Raphael D’Abdon, Italian-born writer, scholar and poet based in Pretoria and author of four poetry collections, and with Duduzile Ndlovu, postdoctoral fellow at the University of Johannesburg, poet and researcher whose work explores memory, migration and identity through arts-based methods.
12 October | Seminar at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg
13 October | Aperitivo Letterario (reading) at the Cape Town Club, Cape Town
Organised by Prof. Mara Boccaccio, Senior Lecturer and Head of the Italian Section at the University of Cape Town, with a PhD from the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa and research interests in 20th-century Italian literature and contemporary poetry. With Peter Anderson, Associate Professor of English at UCT, poet and recipient of the Thomas Pringle Prize.
14 October | Seminar at the University of Cape Town (UCT), Cape Town
15–18 October | Guest of STIA
The Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS) is an independent research institute established in 1999 to provide a creative space for the mind, advancing cross-disciplinary research at the highest level. Modelled on the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study, it is the first institute of its kind in Africa. Ubah Cristina Ali Farah, who was previously a writer-in-residence at STIAS in 2020, returns to Stellenbosch to conclude her South African tour.
We look forward to welcoming you to a week of Italian literature, poetry, and cultural exchange. Whether you are a long-time reader of Italian contemporary fiction or simply curious to discover new voices, this tour offers a rare opportunity to encounter one of Italy’s most original literary voices in an intimate and engaging setting.
Further details on individual events, admission, and reservations will be announced soon. Contact us for more information.