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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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