Image copyright Human Rights Centre Somaliland Image caption Poet Nacima Qorane was found guilty of bringing the state into contempt for backing Somaliland's reunification with Somalia.

A court in the self-declared republic of Somaliland has sentenced a young poet to three years in jail.

Nacima Qorane was found guilty of bringing the state into contempt by advocating for Somaliland to reunite with Somalia.

Pressure groups in Somaliland said Ms Qorane's basic human rights have been violated.

Somaliland self-declared independence in 1991, but is not recognised internationally.

Ms Qorane was arrested in January after returning from the Somali capital Mogadishu, where prosecutors said she had recited poetry calling for Somali unity.

After a ferocious civil war, north-west Somalia broke away from the rest of the country and declared itself as an independent Somaliland.

The territory is home to about 3.5 million people.

In February 2018, the self-declared republic agreed to allow the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to set up a military base in the coastal port of Berbera, as part of the UAE's fight against Yemen's Houthi rebels.

The prosecution said that she had labelled the self-declared republic of Somaliland a "region" and "insulted and defamed" its government.

Somaliland's Human Rights Centre has asked the government of Somaliland to release Nacima Qorane and respect human rights.

Its director, Guleid Ahmed Jama, told the BBC that it was "very concerned about the conviction and sentencing of Nacima Qorane".

"Freedom of expression is enshrined and protected by the constitution of Somaliland. We urge the government of Somaliland to respect its own constitution," he said.

A number of other artists and journalists have been arrested in Somaliland for the same offence.</s>Court sentences poet Naema Ahmed to three years in prison over “bringing the State into Contempt

Today the regional court in Hargeisa has sentenced Naema Ahmed Ibrahim to three years in prison over charges related to statements she allegedly made in Mogadishu. According to the charge sheet, these statements are “insult and defamation against the state.”

Naema was arrested on 27th January 2018 from Hargeisa Egal International Airport while she was traveling to Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.

The prosecution charged Naema of two accounts: Anti-national Activity of a citizen abroad (article 212 of the Penal Code) and Bringing the Nation or the State into Contempt (article 219(2) of the Penal Code).

The court said Naema has not committed Anti-national Activity of a citizen abroad (article 212 of the Penal Code) but “found her of Bringing the Nation or the State into Contempt (article 219(2) of the Penal Code).”

The charge is related to statements which the prosecution said is against ‘the separation of the Republic of Somaliland,” and calling Somaliland a “region”.

“We are very concerned about the conviction and sentence of Neame. Freedom of expression is enshrined and protected by the Constitution of Somaliland,” says Guleid Ahmed Jama, the director of Human Rights Centre.

“We urge the government of Somaliland to respect its own constitution. We are also very concerned about the allegations of ill-treatment made by the lawyers of Naema.” he added.

Human Rights Centre requests the government of Somaliland to release Naema Ahmed Ibrahim.</s>There is no right or wrong way to read a poem.

If you’ve been taught that at any point, you must be prepared to unlearn it.

Schools often teach you that there is a right or wrong way to read a poem. Including these reasons gets you extra marks.

If you’re analysing a poem for academic purposes, this may not be the post for you. This post aims to make you a better poet by learning from your predecessors.

The beauty of poetry is that it’s open to interpretation. Yes, some images can only mean one thing, but the best poems mean something different to everyone. That’s not because they’re poorly written, but because we project our own experiences onto what we read.

Poets must make deliberate decisions about every aspect of their poem. Things like a poem’s structure, its title, and even its use of punctuation are deliberate decisions made by the poet to reinforce—or sometimes contradict—the overarching theme or message of the poem.

In this post, we’re going to look at some of the areas you can analyse when reading a poem. Because there are so many different kinds of poetry, this isn’t an exhaustive list. It will give you some ideas of how to get started, though.

For some more ideas, check out Ruth Padel’s 52 Ways of Looking at a Poem.

So, without further ado, let’s take a look at how to analyse a poem.

Titles are important. Don’t gloss over them. Ever.

If a poem is vague or very short, a title can explain what it’s about without it needing to be stated within the poem itself.

It can also be used to set the scene if a poem is set in a particular time or place. Beat poet Allen Ginsberg did this a lot with his poetry.

Questions to think about
• What is the purpose of the poem’s title? Does it reinforce the message? Does it set the scene? Does it do something else?

An epigraph is a short phrase—sometimes a quote—at the start of a poem.

Most poems don’t have epigraphs. If a poem does have one, it’s been put there for a purpose.

Sometimes it’s to pay homage to the poem that inspired it. Other times, it’s a quote to reinforce the poem’s message or explain what it’s about. It could also be a dedication to someone or something.

Questions to think about
• What purpose does the epigraph serve?

There are lots of different kinds of poetic structure, and they all carry with them different assumptions.

Not using a structure is just as deliberate a decision as using one.

Starting off with a rigid structure and gradually falling apart could be used to symbolise discord or distress.

You can find a list of poetic forms here.

Questions to think about
• What is the poem’s form or structure? Does it change as the tone of the poem changes?
• Why do you think this structure was chosen? Does it reinforce or contradict the message of the poem?

Not all poems have to rhyme. Free verse, for example, neither rhymes nor has a structure.

The use of a rhyming scheme can reflect many things. It could be related to its structure, to create a chant-like feel, or even to poke fun at the topic of the poem.

Questions to think about
• Does the poem have a rhyming scheme? What is it?
• Does the rhyming scheme change as the poem progresses? Why do you think this is?
• Are there any forced rhymes in the poem? Do you think this is deliberate, or simply because the poet needed a word that rhymed?
• Why do you think the poet chose this rhyming scheme over another?

Metre is the pattern of stressed or unstressed syllables in a poem. Stressed syllables are accented or longer, while unstressed syllables are shorter or unaccented.

Each pair of stressed and unstressed syllables makes a foot.

Here’s a quick look at a couple of the most popular:

It took me years to get my head around what iambic pentameter is. Now I find myself writing in it without even realising.

Iambic pentameter has 10 syllables per line. The emphasis falls on every other syllable, like so: da-DA da-DA da-DA da-DA.

Iambic tetrameter consists of four unstressed syllables and four stressed syllables.

It sounds like this: da-DA da-DA da-DA da-DA.

There are lots, lots more combinations. It’s also worth remembering that free verse doesn’t need to abide by any of these rules. Which is both irritating and exhilarating.

If you want to find out more about feet and metre in poetry, Shakespeare Study Guide is a really useful resource that explains it much better than I can.

Questions to think about
• What kind of rhythm does the metre create?
• Does it feel childlike, chant-like, etc?

The one time I wrote a poem without punctuation (see terrible screenshot above), it felt like I was selling my soul. But I did it because it was important to the message of the poem. It was an interesting experiment and helped to convey the narrator’s emotions, but I’m not sure I’ll be doing it again any time soon.

Punctuation can also be used to emphasise a point. For instance a full stop halfway through a line forces you to pause. It breaks up the rhythm and can make an otherwise structured poem turn out very differently. It also goes against the traditional assumption that line breaks are a form of punctuation in themselves.

Questions to think about
• Does the poem follow traditional grammar and punctuation? If not, why do you think this is?
• Does the punctuation within the poem force you to read it in a particular way? What effect does this have?

Every word in a poem is chosen for a reason. It could be that they fit the rhythm, that they’re the right length for the shape of the poem, or that they have the right connotations for the poem’s theme.

Questions to think about
• Are there any particular words that stand out to you?
• Are there any words that are used excessively? Do they help to drive the point home, or do they become jarring?
• Is it written in more than one language? Why do you think this is?

Even the shortest poem can (and should) tell a story.

Questions to think about
• What story does the poem tell?
• Does it tell this story well?
• How could it tell the story better? Does it need more imagery, more explanation, etc?
• How much of the story is left open to interpretation? Why do you think the poet did this?

Imagery is what everyone jumps to when they analyse a poem. Poems are well-known for invoking strong images and taking us to a different time and place in a short amount of words.

Creating an image in a poem doesn’t always have to be about a metaphor or a simile. It could also come from the shape of a concrete poem, or from the poem’s story itself.

It could also stem from the use of vivid language. For instance, saying that a character drinks a caramel macchiato instead of coffee. These small details give us a bigger insight into the character’s mind and makes them feel more real.

Questions to think about
• What metaphors and similes does the poem use? Why do you think the poet chose to use these?
• What other analogies does the poem use?
• What image(s) stood out to you the most, and why?

When it comes to analysing a poem, there really is no right or wrong answer.

The most important tool you need to analyse a poem is an open mind. So long as you’ve got that, and you’re willing to get into discussions with people who will read the same poem completely differently to you, you’re all set 🙂

So, next time you read a poem, ask yourself:
• How does it make you feel?
• What images does it invoke?
• How does it use language to get its message across?
• What’s the overall message, theme, or topic?
• Does the structure or rhyming scheme reflect the topic of the poem?
• Does the poem use punctuation or line breaks in a creative way?
• Is there a rhyme scheme? How does that tie in with the overall theme?
• Does the title add an extra layer to the poem?
• How do the metre and rhyme scheme work together? Do they invoke a particular feel?
• What story does the poem tell?

Over to You

What’s the first thing you ask yourself when analysing a poem?</s>Policies the Somalilandgovernment has adopted under President Bihi turn analysts’ attention to what Hargeisa looks upon as external threats. Those challenges range from a sovereignty dispute with Mogadishu to a territorial dispute with Puntland.

It is easy to regard the economic policy of Somaliland government as a continuation of the ruling party’s policies under President Silanyo. Inflation poses a challenge to Somaliland economy. The previous government regulated mobile money transactions to deal with inflation.

The current government has taken a further step to set the exchange rate but has not publicised it. Telesom Managing Director, Abdikarim Mohamed Idd, told BBC that “Somaliland Central Bank will set the daily exchange rate for money changers.” It is not clear whether the monetary policy affects only money changers using the new Telesom mobile exchange platform.

The government-set exchange rate will unlikely make the parallel exchange rate cease to exist. If anything, the new monetary policy shows how President Bihi has turned his back on free market economy. The Somaliland Central Bank does not control the hard currency in circulation in Somaliland. How will the government be able to set the exchange rate for money changers without colluding with some businesses?

There are lessons to learn from the expediently adopted economic policies of the last military government of Somalia. In 1986 the former military regime gave in to IMF pressures, abandoned national development plans to adopt Structural Adjustment Program. The late Somaliland President, Egal, then Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, argued the IMF initiative could “sap the Somali economy”.

In January 1986 one hundred Somali Shillings bought one US Dollar. After the IMF-mandated hard currency auction, 3000 Somali Shillings bought one US dollar. Although the government had introduced economic liberalisation the Ministry of Finance set the price of rice, sugar and wheat flour. The government intervention forced wholesalers to hoard their commodities.

Wholesalers used to buy hard currency in the black market to import goods. There was no way wholesalers could offset shortfall in revenues caused by auctioning of the hard currency. Neither the Central Bank nor Commercial and Savings Bank had hard currency reserves importers could have bought. The only option open to wholesalers was to raise prices of rice, sugar and wheat flour, a move the government opposed. Relaxing of government regulation of businesses led to the creation of new businesses in an environment without fair competition. Economic liberalisation paved the way for crony capitalism. To do something about declining government revenues the government created a Ministry of Revenues. It sent tax bills to businesses for profits made prior years in a country without accounting standards for income or corporate tax.

The Somaliland government might be repeating the economic mismanagement Somalis experienced under a military regime if the Central Bank sets the exchange rate. Somaliland Central Bank authorities haven’t explained why the bank usurped the role of the market. Ahmed Saeed Egeh, the BBC stringer in Hargeisa, asked a money changer if money in his Telesom account was “ air money or banknotes”.

The World Bank report, Somaliland’s Private Sector at a Crossroads, lauded Somalilandfor resilience and vibrancy but spotlighted threats to the polity thus: “At present, Somaliland’s government is vulnerable to capture by private sector interests, which constrains its ability to take policy actions for the public good. As pressure mounts for passage of key legislation to promote good economic governance, interest groups with a stake in the status quo will work to block reform.”
A court in Somaliland jails poet Nacima Qorane for three years for bringing the state into contempt by writing a poem calling for reunification with Somalia.