Why Do You Dance When You Walk?

'Papa, why do you dance when you walk? When Aden's 8-year-old daughter asks him this one morning in Paris, he is taken aback. The question is innocent, but the answer is not so simple. Unable to resist Béa's inquisitive spirit, he moves silkily between memories of his childhood: from his silent, mysterious mother and the shanty roofs of his neighbourhood to the malicious attack that changed his life forever and the ensuing struggle that made him a man. Anchoring his memories is a Djibouti on the cusp of independence; a land of shifting deserts and immense heat, French-from-France ex-pats, and one lonely and sick boy finding solace in books. Why Do You Dance When You Walk is a poignant and timeless story of the complexity of family, the value of poetry and freedom, and the ripple effect of the traumas that stalk our movement.

Abdourahman A. Waberi was born in 1965 in Djibouti. He teaches French literature at George Washington University. He has written pieces for Slate Afrique, Le Monde and other newspapers and is the author of numerous books which includes: Le Pays sans ombre (1994), Cahier nomade (1996), Balbala (1998), Aux Etats-Unis d'Afrique (2006) and La divine chanson (2015).