This completely new edition is the only scholarly work on the poetry of popular and mass culture among a people who are renowned for their passion for poetry. Johnson traces the beello movement from its origins as a youth culture, which in its early days was concerned with themes of love and pleasure. It later became the medium for freedom songs in the pre-independence period, for the expression of modern political ideas, political protest, rallying songs and social comment, many examples of which are cited in this volume. Heello became the most dynamic form of Somali poetry in this century. This edition uses modern Somali script.