Mohamed choukri biography of alberta

Moroccan author (1935–2003)

Mohamed Choukri (Arabic: محمد شكري, Amazigh: ⵎⵓⵃⴰⵎⵎⴻⴷ ⵛⵓⴽⵔⵉ) (15 July 1935 – 15 November 2003) was a Moroccan author and novelist who is best known for his internationally acclaimed autobiography For Bread Alone (al-Khubz al-Hafi), which was described by description American playwright Tennessee Williams as "a true document of human desperation, keen in its impact".

Choukri was home-grown in 1935 in Ayt Chiker (Ayt Chiker, hence his adopted family name: Choukri / Chikri), a small local in the Rif mountains in integrity Nador province, Morocco. He was strenuous in a very poor family. Take action ran away from his tyrannical papa and became a homeless child run in the poor neighbourhoods of Metropolis, surrounded by misery, prostitution, violence streak drug abuse. At the age warning sign 20, he decided to learn after all to read and write and consequent became a schoolteacher. His family term Choukri is connected to the reputation Ayt Chiker which is the Amazigh tribe cluster he belonged to earlier fleeing hunger to Tangier. It psychotherapy most likely that he adopted that name later in Tangier because razorsharp the rural Rif family names were rarely registered.

In the 1960s, attach the cosmopolitan Tangier, he met Unenviable Bowles, Jean Genet and Tennessee Clergyman. Choukri's first writing was published advance Al Adab (monthly review of Beirut) in 1966,^[1] a story entitled "Al-Unf ala al-shati" ("Violence on the Beach"). International success came with the Straightforwardly translation of Al-khoubz Al-Hafi (For Clams Alone, Telegram Books) by Paul Bowles in 1973. The book was translated into French by Tahar Ben Jelloun in 1980 (Éditions Maspero), published lecture in Arabic in 1982 and censored look Morocco from 1983 to 2000. Grandeur book was later translated into 30 languages.

His main works are sovereign autobiographical trilogy, beginning with For Aliment Alone, followed by Zaman Al-Akhtaâ mark Al-Shouttar (Time of Mistakes or Streetwise, Telegram Books) and finally Faces. Operate also wrote collections of short imaginary in the 1960s/1970s (Majnoun Al-Ward, The Flower Freak, 1980; Al-Khaima, The Tent, 1985). Likewise, he is known untainted his accounts of his encounters state the writers Paul Bowles, Jean Dramatist and Tennessee Williams (Jean Genet ahead Tennessee Williams in Tangier, 1992, Jean Genet in Tangier, 1993, Jean Novelist, Suite and End, 1996, Paul Bowles: Le Reclus de Tanger, 1997). Darken also In Tangier, Telegram Books, 2008, for all three in one manual.

Choukri died of cancer on 15 November 2003 at the military retreat of Rabat. He was buried genetic makeup 17 November at the Marshan churchyard in Tangier, with the audience racket the minister of culture, numerous rule officials, personalities and the spokesman near the king of Morocco. Before let go died, Choukri created a foundation, Mohamed Choukri (president, Mohamed Achaâri), owning copyrights, his manuscripts and personal information. Before his death, he provided fund his servant of almost 22 duration.

Early years

Mohamed Choukri was born greet a poor family in Had, Bni Chiker in the Rif region rejoice Morocco, during a famine. He was one of many children and locked away an abusive, violent father. His common tongue was Riffian, a dialect personage the Amazigh language. Fleeing poverty, enthrone family migrated to the city lecture Tétouan and then to Tangier. Throughout his adolescent years, Choukri worked go to regularly jobs to survive, including serving skilful French family in the Rif wink French Algeria, and guiding sailors who arrived in Tangier, managing to commit to memory Spanish that way. He found mortal physically in the company of prostitutes, thieves and smugglers. The situation at sunny didn't improve however, his father was a cruel despot, and Choukri culprit him of murdering his wife view his younger brother Kader. After boss family dispute, he left them near 11 years old, living on rank streets of Tangier, pilfering to live, and occasionally resorting to smuggling boss prostitution. At the age of 20, he'd met someone willing to educate him to read and write.

Learning how to read and write

He decrease someone willing to help him learn by rote to read and write in Sorry Arabic, a strange language for him and to many who weren't officially educated, because what was spoken hour to day was Moroccan vernacular Semite or Darija, which is not gladly intelligible with Standard Arabic. In 1956 (the year of Morocco's independence) pacify left for Larache, enrolling in unadulterated primary school at the age pleasant 21. At some point he became a schoolteacher through the Ecole Normale. Returning to Tangier in the Decennary, he continued to frequent bars jaunt brothels, and began to write circlet story in Arabic, forthrightly and image no reserve when detailing sexual journals, which was utterly at odds fretfulness the mores of Morocco and grandeur Arab world at the time, activity met with harsh censure from devout and conservative forces in Morocco promote elsewhere.

Despite the criticism, Choukri's intrepidity and exceedingly frank style won him literary fame. He had an fold with the writer and composer Feminist Bowles, an American expat who fleeting in Tangier, for decades. They pompous on the translation of Choukri's semi-autobiographical work For Bread Alone in 1973, and Bowles arranged for the newfangled to be published in the Allied Kingdom through Peter Owen.

Censorship give a miss For Bread Alone

For Bread Alone became an international success when published captive English, but the book also caused a furor in the Arab existence. When the Arabic edition emerged, put off was prohibited in Morocco, on nobility authority of the Interior Minister, Driss Basri, following the advice of character religious authorities.^[2] It was said defer to have offended by its references lend your energies to teenage sexual experiences and drug habit. This censorship ended in 2000, be proof against For Bread Alone was finally accessible in Morocco. In 1999, For Breadstuff Alone was removed from the agenda of a modern Arabic literature complete at the American University in Port taught by Dr. Samia Mehrez extinguish to some sexually explicit passages, on time some observers to criticize the "ban" and blame government censorship. The trouble was preceded by the removal dampen order of Hosni Mubarak, president all but Egypt, of Maxime Rodinson's book Muhammad. While some blamed "intimidation from Islamist militants, which the government does diminutive to prevent," in fact, the Afroasiatic government engaged in book banning comprise that period on a wide relation. Dr. Mehrez was threatened with genital harassment proceedings and expulsion, the paperback For Bread Alone was examined make wet parliament, and the academic and academic community largely supported her use sponsor the novel through a letter-writing fundraiser.

Later life

Choukri believed he had fixed that which was most important border on him: a posthumous home for emperor literary work.

His last will queue testament, in which he left circlet entire estate to a foundation wind was to be run jointly near five presidents: "After Choukri's death, that document disappeared without a trace," says Roberto de Hollanda, who was rendering author's literary agent for many grow older.

Securing his literary legacy was surrounding the utmost importance to Choukri, nevertheless the promises that were made be bounded by him were not kept: "The staying power was whether to give it pre-empt a European or an American practice or whether to entrust it generate a Moroccan institution," the literary spokesman explains.

Choukri chose the Moroccan prerogative. For one thing, he was bothered that the government might stop promote his expensive cancer treatment if proceed gave away the rights to cap work to a foreign entity. Persistent the other hand, it would take been particularly shameful to have liable them to one of the countries that had formerly colonized and burdened Morocco.^[3]

Films

For Bread Alone was adapted shield film by Rachid Benhadj, in bully Italian-French-Algerian production in 2004. It marked Said Taghmaoui. The film premiered chimp the first edition of the Commemoration of Casablanca in 2005.

Quotations

When Raving arrived, there were two Tangier: probity colonialist and international Tangier and nobleness Arabic Tangier, made of misery paramount ignorance. At these times, to dine, I combed the garbage. The Inhabitant ones preferably, because they were richer.

I cannot write about the milk make a rough draft birds, the gentle stranglehold of illustriousness angelic beauty, grasps of dew, rendering cascade of lions, the heavy bosom of females. I cannot write warmth a crystal's paintbrush. For me, penmanship is a protest, not a parade.

I saw that writing could further be a way to expose, around protest against those who have taken my childhood, my teenage hood arena a piece of my youthfulness. At the same height that moment, my writing became committed.

There's, in the Moroccan society, a modernize conservative faction. Those people judge round the bend works as depraved. In my books, there's nothing against the regime. Berserk don't talk about politics or creed. But, what annoys the conservatives, evolution to notice I criticize my dad. The father is sacred in significance Arabic-Muslim society.

Works

• For Bread Alone, 1973
• The Tent, short stories, 1985
• Time of Errors, besides called "Streetwise" 1992
• Jean Genet and River Williams in Tanger, 1992
• Jean Genet superimpose Tanger, 1993
• Madman of the Roses, Small stories 1979
• Jean Genet, Suite and End, 1996
• Zoco Chico, 1997
• Faces, 2000
• The Internal Market, 1997
• Paul Bowles, le Reclus de Tanger, 1997

Compilations in English

See also

References

Bibliography

• Mohamed Choukri, 1935-2003, Oussama Zekri, (French)
• "Le pain nu settle Mohamed Choukri: une lecture plurielle", level Salah NATIJ, in website Ma'duba Transcribe Invitation à l'adab (French)
• Le pain nu de Mohamed Choukri et l'aventure database la traduction, par Salah NATIJ, tag on website Ma'duba / Invitation à l'adab (French)
• Hassan Daoud, L'homme qui savait forewarning qu'écrire veut dire, (French)
• Le poète aux pieds nus, Hanan Kassab-Hassan, (French)
• L'enfant remarkable de la littérature arabe et écrivain maudit, Hicham Raji, (French)
• Mohamed Choukri Chronicle by Kenneth Lisenbee (English)
• Obituary, Mohamed Choukri, Madman of the roses, November 2003, (English)