Category: Maghrebi Literature

172 Books: A Look at Moroccan Literature Available in English

Via the ever excellent ArabLit. By Nadia Ghanem Many readers and bookshops organize their book piles, shelves, and readings by country, loosely defined as the author’s country of origin, or else by where the story takes place. It’s an approach to fiction I always found odd and enjoyable; there is a special kind of enjoyment to be had by sticking to the fiction of a place and concentrating on … Read more 172 Books: A Look at Moroccan Literature Available in English

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Abdellatif Laâbi’s ” Perishable Poems”

A pleasure right now here in the turmoil of virus to sit down & read through the latest Abdellatif Laâbi collection of poems, excellently translated by Peter Thompson, & published by Dialogos in Nola. As the publisher’s website states, “English speakers can now join Africans and Africa scholars in recognizing Abdellatif Laâbi as Morocco’s preeminent living poet.” I would qualify this by saying “preeminent francophone poet” given the great … Read more Abdellatif Laâbi’s ” Perishable Poems”

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A Conversation with Yamen Manai and Pierre Joris

TALK SATURDAY, APRIL 7, 2018 3:00 PM IN FRENCH. FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. NO RSVP NECCESARY. ALBERTINE 972 FIFTH AVENUE NEW YORK, UNITED STATES GET DIRECTIONS WEBSITE SHARE ON  On April 9, join us as we welcome Yamen Manai, laureate of the 2017 Prix de la Francophonie, and writer Pierre Joris for a conversation on Manai’s award-winning novel, L’Amas ardent (Elyzad, 2018). “In this Voltaire-like fable, a … Read more A Conversation with Yamen Manai and Pierre Joris

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AGADIR: Installation by Yto Barrada & texts by Mohammed Khaïr-Eddine

Today is the opening of Moroccan artist Yto Barrada’s installation AGADIR at the Curve Gallery of the Barbican Center in London. Below, the official announcement & a few of the pages from Mohammed Khaïr-Eddine’s book “Agadir,” which I translated for the occasion: For her first major London commission, artist Yto Barrada weaves together personal narratives and political ideals to create a complex portrait of a city and its people … Read more AGADIR: Installation by Yto Barrada & texts by Mohammed Khaïr-Eddine

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Abdellatif Laâbi’s “In Praise of Defeat”

Archipelago books — maybe right now the finest US press truly turned toward & tuned in to the world beyond these Benighted States — has just released a gorgeous 800-page bilingual tome of the Moroccan poet Abdellatif Laâbi’s Selected Poems under the title In Praise of Defeat. The choice of poems is the author’s own, and the excellent translations from the French are by Donald Nicholson-Smith. Rather than “review” & laud … Read more Abdellatif Laâbi’s “In Praise of Defeat”

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Nabile Farès (1940-2016)

Just heard from his close friend, the poet Habib Tengour, that the great Algerian writer Nabile Farès died on Wednesday. A brief bio-note (revising the Wikipedia entry) for those who don’t know Farès or his work, followed by a little essay I wrote some years ago: Born in Collo, Algeria, Nabile Farès participated, during the Liberation war, in the strikes of the high school students in 1956, before joining the ranks of the National … Read more Nabile Farès (1940-2016)

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The First Abdellatif Laâbi Collection of 2016 Out Now

via Arab Lit (in English) BY MLYNXQUALEY on JULY 25, 2016 • ( 0 ) There are two volumes of poetry by Prix Goncourt winner Abdellatif Laâbi out in fresh English translations this year: The first, Beyond the Barbed Wire, is out from Carcanet this month. The second is In Praise of Defeat, translated by Donald Nicholson-Smith, published by Archipelago, set for release in November [Permit me to add that this volume has a preface … Read more The First Abdellatif Laâbi Collection of 2016 Out Now

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