Spain, writes in an Arabic still immersed in the folklore
and spirit-view of his nomadic, Tuareg upbringing.
Tahar
Ben Jelloun
, originally from Morocco, is the first Arab
author ever to garner the coveted Prix Goncourt, among
other high French honors. A committed spokesman against
tyranny, he is, as he puts it, “first and foremost a storyteller,
a novelist, and a fabulator who plays with words and
with the imaginary” (The New Yorker). In this latest work
excerpted here, he intuits an inner narrative of his real-
life friend, undergoing a challenging medical procedure.
French-Algerian lyricist, poet and performer
Alima Hamel
plumbs the depths of her cultural dual heritage in the
rich tapestry of song. Be sure to click at the titles of the
lyrics you find here, to hear her stunning songs in original
French, mixed with some Algerian dialect. Syrian-UK author
Zaheer Omareen
focuses his notable efforts also as an
artist, editor and curator to shine a light on an entrenching
culture of violence pervading the land of his birth. Finally,
Moroccan-born
Najat El Hachmi
has become a celebrated
Catalan author, writing in Catalan and representing her
adopted culture abroad, while exploring the delicate line
of otherness she continues to navigate.
Our European-Arab focus is counterpointed by some
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