Moroccan literature

[Stevie B]

My son Luc is slated to graduate from college in late January after the conclusion of a 15-day study abroad trip to Morocco. Unfortunately, that trip is looking less and less likely to happen because of renewed pandemic fears. If the trip gets canceled, he'd have to complete some kind of paper/project in its place. I'm wondering if anyone could recommend any Moroccan novels or non-fiction books (or even a film or two) that could possibly form a partial basis for his research. I'm already familiar with Tahar Ben Jelloun and Fatima Mernissi, but that's about it when it comes to Moroccan authors. I also know some of Paul Bowles' books are set in Morocco, but those seem to focus more on the expat experience. I'd appreciate any suggestions that I could pass on to Luc, especially any books/films that delve more deeply into Moroccan culture and/or contemporary history. Thanks!

 

[Stevie B]

I really liked Driss Chraibi. He is most famous for his fiction but I'm pretty sure (it's been a long time) that I read a volume of his autobiography, called Vu, lu, entendu. An account of growing up in colonial Morocco.

Thanks for the recommendation. I just checked and found that New York Review Books republished A Simple Past a year ago, so that book is readily available and the storyline seems promising.

 

[Leseratte]

My son Luc is slated to graduate from college in late January after the conclusion of a 15-day study abroad trip to Morocco. Unfortunately, that trip is looking less and less likely to happen because of renewed pandemic fears. If the trip gets canceled, he'd have to complete some kind of paper/project in its place. I'm wondering if anyone could recommend any Moroccan novels or non-fiction books (or even a film or two) that could possibly form a partial basis for his research. I'm already familiar with Tahar Ben Jelloun and Fatima Mernissi, but that's about it when it comes to Moroccan authors. I also know some of Paul Bowles' books are set in Morocco, but those seem to focus more on the expat experience. I'd appreciate any suggestions that I could pass on to Luc, especially any books/films that delve more deeply into Moroccan culture and/or contemporary history. Thanks!

Don´t know if this is of help. Haven´t read a single one of these authors:

180+ Books: A Look at Moroccan Literature Available in English

ArabLit Editor Nadia Ghanem surveys the twentieth- and twenty-first century Moroccan literature available in English.

arablit.org

 

[tiganeasca]

I can't vouch for them all because I haven't read them all and it's been too long (sorry) since I read any of them but here's a list of Moroccan authors in my own library (omitting those already mentioned):

Fouad Laroui
Youssef Fade
Mohammed Mrabet
Mahi Binebine
Mohamed Choukri
Abdelilah Hamdouchi
Leila Abouzeid
Laila Lalami

The last named is an expat writer now in the US. Good luck to your son. The more this pandemic drags on, the more havoc it causes; it's one of the few things in my life that I wish I could have read about instead of lived through. Although it has some plusses in how people have reacted, the devastation it has caused--not to mention the death toll--is simply appalling.

 

[Stevie B]

Don´t know if this is of help. Haven´t read a single one of these authors:

180+ Books: A Look at Moroccan Literature Available in English

ArabLit Editor Nadia Ghanem surveys the twentieth- and twenty-first century Moroccan literature available in English.

arablit.org

Many thanks for the link, Leseratte. This list is both expansive and easy to review. I recognized about a half-dozen names and learned I had read a couple more Moroccan authors than I had earlier recalled. I can pass this link on to Luc and have him do the leg work to see which authors/books would be the most appealing. Thanks again!

 

[Leseratte]

Many thanks for the link, Leseratte. This list is both expansive and easy to review. I recognized about a half-dozen names and learned I had read a couple more Moroccan authors than I had earlier recalled. I can pass this link on to Luc and have him do the leg work to see which authors/books would be the most appealing. Thanks again!

I'm glad it helps and I wish your son success with his paper. To my shame I perceived, that I never read an Morrocan author.

 

[Stevie B]

I can't vouch for them all because I haven't read them all and it's been too long (sorry) since I read any of them but here's a list of Moroccan authors in my own library (omitting those already mentioned):

Fouad Laroui
Youssef Fade
Mohammed Mrabet
Mahi Binebine
Mohamed Choukri
Abdelilah Hamdouchi
Leila Abouzeid
Laila Lalami

The last named is an expat writer now in the US. Good luck to your son. The more this pandemic drags on, the more havoc it causes; it's one of the few things in my life that I wish I could have read about instead of lived through. Although it has some plusses in how people have reacted, the devastation it has caused--not to mention the death toll--is simply appalling.

Thanks for list, Dave. I'm familiar with Leila and Laila and Mohamed and Mohammed (The Lemon was a book that got passed around between Peace Corps volunteers in Yemen). The other four authors are completely new to me. It seems to me that Lalami is the most commercially-successful one in the group, but perhaps a Mrabet book or two is still in print with Black Sparrow Press?

 

[tiganeasca]

Thanks for list, Dave. I'm familiar with Leila and Laila and Mohamed and Mohammed (The Lemon was a book that got passed around between Peace Corps volunteers in Yemen). The other four authors are completely new to me. It seems to me that Lalami is the most commercially-successful one in the group, but perhaps a Mrabet book or two is still in print with Black Sparrow Press?

I may be wrong but my recollection is that Black Sparrow is gone--and has been for some time. I cannot recall if it was bankruptcy or if they simply retired and sold their rights. They may be an imprint elsewhere...I simply don't recall the details except for a rather firm sense that Black Sparrow Press, as an independent press, no longer exists. But someone, obviously, must have the rights to their authors/backlist.

 

[Stevie B]

I'm glad it helps and I wish your son success with his paper. To my shame I perceived, that I never read an Morrocan author.

Maybe reading a Moroccan author can be a goal for the coming year? Which reminds me, many of us should revisit the reading goals we set in the thread that was started last December. I can't recall if I contributed to that thread or whether I knew myself well enough to avoid setting reading goals (and thus save myself from the embarrassment of not coming close to achieving them).

 

[Stevie B]

I may be wrong but my recollection is that Black Sparrow is gone--and has been for some time. I cannot recall if it was bankruptcy or if they simply retired and sold their rights. They may be an imprint elsewhere...I simply don't recall the details except for a rather firm sense that Black Sparrow Press, as an independent press, no longer exists. But someone, obviously, must have the rights to their authors/backlist.

I'm surprised to hear that, though I have to say I never liked the aesthetics of their books. I guess steady sales of Charles Bukowski books wasn't enough to sustain the business. I'm also a John Fante fan so I'm curious to see which publishing house has picked up the rights to his novels. Then again, perhaps there's no demand for them?

 

[tiganeasca]

Re Black Sparrow. I found this interesting discussion--guess I shoulda taken a moment to research before posting my hazy recollections. Looks like I was on the right track anyway:

"Literary America owes a great debt to the Black Sparrow Press. This visionary California-based publisher was prepared to gamble on Charles Bukowski - the low-life, alcoholic writer other publishers wouldn’t touch with a barge pole - and a swathe of other avant-garde authors who didn’t fit in.​

Founded by John Martin in 1966, Black Sparrow also published Paul Bowles, John Fante, Diane Wakoski and other so-called ‘alternative’ writers as well several more mainstream names in Joyce Carol Oates, D.H. Lawrence and Wyndham Lewis (although Lewis had completely faded from the public eye when Black Sparrow decided to revisit his work)....​

Martin retired in 2002 and sold the publishing rights for Bukowski, Fante and Bowles to HarperCollins, which showed just how far his quest had come. But the Black Sparrow legacy lives on and many collectors are devoted to acquiring a copy of ever book published by this remarkable small press."​

 

[Leseratte]

Maybe reading a Moroccan author can be a goal for the coming year? Which reminds me, many of us should revisit the reading goals we set in the thread that was started last December. I can't recall if I contributed to that thread or whether I knew myself well enough to avoid setting reading goals (and thus save myself from the embarrassment of not coming close to achieving them).

I don´t set reading goals these days, but I´m fascinated by the themes on the list. I hope to read more than one Moroccan author soon.

 

[Stevie B]

Re Black Sparrow. I found this interesting discussion--guess I shoulda taken a moment to research before posting my hazy recollections. Looks like I was on the right track anyway:

"Literary America owes a great debt to the Black Sparrow Press. This visionary California-based publisher was prepared to gamble on Charles Bukowski - the low-life, alcoholic writer other publishers wouldn’t touch with a barge pole - and a swathe of other avant-garde authors who didn’t fit in.​

Founded by John Martin in 1966, Black Sparrow also published Paul Bowles, John Fante, Diane Wakoski and other so-called ‘alternative’ writers as well several more mainstream names in Joyce Carol Oates, D.H. Lawrence and Wyndham Lewis (although Lewis had completely faded from the public eye when Black Sparrow decided to revisit his work)....​

Martin retired in 2002 and sold the publishing rights for Bukowski, Fante and Bowles to HarperCollins, which showed just how far his quest had come. But the Black Sparrow legacy lives on and many collectors are devoted to acquiring a copy of ever book published by this remarkable small press."​

Almost 20 years ago? Wow! John Martin was featured in a Bukowski documentary I watched not so long ago. I imagine Bukowski made him a tidy sum over the years. I've only read two novels by Fante, but I never understood how he fit in with the other alternative writers as his writing often focused on the immigrant/first gen experience of Italian-American family members - not exactly avant-garde stuff.

 

[kpjayan]

Adding a few more names...

This list here has the following Moroccan writers.. ( I haven't read any of them )

The Best 100 Arabic Books (According to the Arab Writers Union): 1-10

Somehow, I thought I could quickly track down each of these 100 titles, translate them (roughly), note whether or not an English translation or excerpt exists, and be done with it. Apparently, my e…

arablit.org

For Bread Alone, Mohamed Choukri
The Game of Forgetting, Mohammed Berrada
Winter Wind, Mubarak Al-Rabih
The Woman and the Rose, Mohamed Zafzaf
The Theocrat, Bensalem Himmich
The Days of Ashes, Mohammad Ezzeddine Tazi
Al-Mu’allim ‘Ala or The Scholar ‘Ala, Abdul Karim Ghalib

 

[Stevie B]

Adding a few more names...

This list here has the following Moroccan writers.. ( I haven't read any of them )

The Best 100 Arabic Books (According to the Arab Writers Union): 1-10

Somehow, I thought I could quickly track down each of these 100 titles, translate them (roughly), note whether or not an English translation or excerpt exists, and be done with it. Apparently, my e…

arablit.org

For Bread Alone, Mohamed Choukri
The Game of Forgetting, Mohammed Berrada
Winter Wind, Mubarak Al-Rabih
The Woman and the Rose, Mohamed Zafzaf
The Theocrat, Bensalem Himmich
The Days of Ashes, Mohammad Ezzeddine Tazi
Al-Mu’allim ‘Ala or The Scholar ‘Ala, Abdul Karim Ghalib

Thanks, Jayan. Except for Choukri, these are all new names to me.