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Mohamed Choukri 15 July 1935 - 15 November 2003 The Moroccan writer Mohamed
Choukri was born in 1935 at Beni Chiker, in the Rif area of Morocco.
After the great famine he arrived in Tangier where he grew up in
conditions of extreme poverty. Paul Bowles translated the writings of
Choukri from classical Arabic.
Bowles had commented on his translation of the work: 'Had I known how difficult it would be to make English translations of Mohamed Choukri's texts, I doubt that I would have undertaken the work. The stories were typed in Arabic script (which I cannot read) and the language used was Classical Arabic (which means something to me only in the case of words that have been carried over more or less intact to the local North African dialect). It was Choukri himself who was obliged to do the translating, sometimes working through the medium of the colloquial darija, but generally through Spanish, and occasionally even French, if the sought-for word did not come. When we were translating his autobiography For Bread Alone, he sat beside me, in order to see that I was making a word-for-word version of his text. If he noticed an extra comma he demanded an explanation. I was driven to reiterating: But English is not Arabic! Finally we devised a modus operandi which involved our sitting on opposite sides of the room'. (from 'An Invisible Spectator') Illiterate until the age of 21, Mohamed graduated through life very quickly and established himself as Professor of Arabic at the College Ibn Batuta in Tangier. Since 1966 he published fiction, poetry and criticism in Arabic language periodicals in Morocco, Iraq and Lebanon. Mohamed Choukri lived all of his life in Tangier and wrote many books. In later life he was active in regularly contributing to the popular Tuesday evening broadcasts on Radio Tangier. He also presided over meetings of literary discussion and analysis in his favourite bar in Tangier and was also a good friend of Jane Bowles, Jean Genet and Tennessee Williams. He died in Rabat, Morocco on Saturday 15th November 2003. Obituary: Al Ahram Weekly Books by Mohamed
Choukri translated by Paul Bowles Watch
video on Mohamed Choukri 'For Bread Alone' (1973) Choukri's autobiographical 'For Bread Alone' is a powerful, often brutal tale of growing up destitute in Morocco, but in the end is a remarkable testimony to a young man's determination to become more than his circumstances might have dictated. Although sociology is not what Choukri is about, the book could also be read profitably as a piercing account of Moroccan society in the latter part of the twentieth century. 'Jean Genet in Tangier' (1973) William Burroughs noted in his introduction to Jean Genet in Tangier, 'As I read Choukri's notes, I saw and heard Jean Genet as clearly as if I had been watching a film of him. To achieve such precision simply by reporting what happened and what was said, one must have a rare clarity of vision. Choukri is a writer.' 'Tennessee Williams in Tangier' (1979) Choukri's two short portraits 'Jean Genet in Tangier' and 'Tennessee Williams in Tangier', are compelling, charming and insightful. The direct narratives, which recount Choukri's books demythologise both Genet and Williams, render them as individuals in a way that many full-length portraits have not. Four
short stories in 'Five Eyes' (1979) Back to Moroccan Authors |
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