Usama Al Shahmani (*1971 in Baghdad) studied Arabic and modern Arabic literature. Before he was forced to flee because of a stage play in 2002, he had published three books about Arabic literature. He translates into Arabic and since 2021 has been a literary critic for SRF’s ‘Literaturclub’. His first novel In Foreign Lands the Trees Speak Arabic (In der Fremde sprechen die Bäume arabisch) received several awards. His most recent novel is By Falling the Feather Learns to Fly (Im Fallen lernt die Feder fliegen). Al Shahmani lives in Frauenfeld.