Otoom was born in Jerash, in northern Jordan. He went to high in the United Arab Emirates, then returned to Jordan and got a degree in civil engineering from Jordan University of Science and Technology, in 1997, then shifted careers toward language and literature. He received a BA in Arabic from Yarmouk University in 1997, and then a master’s and PhD in Arabic from the University of Jordan, in 2007, and teaches in Amman