Moroccan literature
All topics-
Book review: Mahi Binebine′s ″Le Seigneur vous le rendra″
Hoping for a better life
Mahi Binebine′s new novel "Le Seigneur vous le rendra" offers a great deal at once: insights into the life of a street child, a coming-of-age story – and a metaphor for Morocco after the Arabellion: By Claudia Kramatschek
-
Al-Halqa in Marrakesh
Morocco's last storytellers
The art of storytelling has always been part of Arab culture. Yet it is a tradition with an uncertain future. Filmmaker Thomas Ladenburger's exploration of the world of Moroccan storytellers provides a fascinating insight into the intangible cultural heritage of humanity. By Melanie Christina Mohr
-
Interview with the Moroccan writer Mahi Binebine
Forging a future
Since the publication of his most recent novel, "Horses of God" (2013), based on a true story about young suicide bombers, Moroccan author and artist Mahi Binebine has been spending time working with disadvantaged youngsters in the slums of his native country. Interview by Michaela Maria Muller
-
"The Happy Marriage" by Tahar Ben Jelloun
"A war won through subterfuge"
The institution of marriage takes a battering in this sour tale of romance, masterfully presented by Tahar Ben Jelloun. Sherif Dhaimish read the book
-
Moroccan writer Abdellah Taia
Disenchantment and a hint of nostalgia
The openly homosexual writer and film-maker, Abdellah Taia, on his latest novel, the painful process of coming out and whether he will ever move back to Morocco. A portrait by Nahrain Al-Mousawi
-
Obituary: Fatima Mernissi
Icon of Arab feminism
The world famous Moroccan sociologist and writer Fatima Mernissi was a mediator between cultures and a charismatic advocate for a genuine Arab feminism. She died on 30 November 2015 at the age of 75
-
Arabic Europe
The writers fated to "represent"
There is a common expectation that writers with non-European origins will supply a literary representation of their birth culture. But many of them find themselves adrift between two cultural entities. Is it merely a question of focusing on one at the expense of the other? Marcia Lynx Qualey met the "Arabic Europe" authors featured at this year's Shubbak Festival in London
-
Abdellah Taïa's "Letters to a Young Moroccan"
"Listen to the chaos of life around you"
Roughly 80 years on from Rainer Maria Rilke's "Letters to a Young Poet", the Moroccan writer Abdellah Taïa compiled an anthology of letters that plays on Rilke's title. Originally published five years ago in French and Arabic, Taïa's book has now been published in German translation. It brings together 18 Moroccan authors, all addressing the country's young generation in urgent, powerful words. By Christoph Leisten
-
Prince Moulay Hicham el Alaoui of Morocco
The diary of the red prince
The Moroccan Prince Moulay Hicham el Alaoui has penned a diary about his life in the palace and his exile, thereby creating a scandal in the royal household. Astrid Kaminski read the book
-
Tenth anniversary of the death of Mohamed Choukri
The "White Nightingale" of Tangier
The Moroccan writer Mohamed Choukri may have died over a decade ago, but the debate surrounding his controversial work continues in conservative Morocco to this day. Aziz Dariouchi on the discourse surrounding Choukri's literary legacy
-
Abdellah Taïa's Novel ''The Day of the King''
The Bitter Taste of Injustice
In his most recent novel, Le jour du Roi (The Day of the King), which has just been published in German translation, the Moroccan author Abdellah Taïa once again takes the reader back to the "leaden years", Morocco's dark days under the former ruler Hassan II. Claudia Kramatschek sends us this review
-
Rethinking World Literature
The Arabic Novel in Non-Western Eyes
Anthologies of "world literature" have often used the term to market a largely Western canon. But isn't western literature still implicitly regarded as the measure of all things? And are we not overlooking other literary values out of sheer ignorance? By Fakhri Saleh