Souffles-Anfas

A Critical Anthology from the Moroccan Journal of Culture and Politics
Herausgeber: Harrison, Olivia C; Villa-Ignacio, Teresa

• Broschiertes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

This book makes available, for the first time in English, essays and poetry published in the seminal postcolonial Moroccan journal of culture and politics, Souffles-Anfas.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Stanford University Press
• Seitenzahl: 304
• Erscheinungstermin: 25. November 2015
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 228mm x 151mm x 20mm
• Gewicht: 452g
• ISBN-13: 9780804796156
• ISBN-10: 0804796157
• Artikelnr.: 42793686

Autorenporträt

Olivia C. Harrison is Assistant Professor of French and Middle East Studies at the University of Southern California. Teresa Villa-Ignacio is Postdoctoral Fellow in English and Visiting Scholar in French at Tulane University.

Inhaltsangabe

Contents and Abstracts
Introduction: Souffles-Anfas for the New Millennium
chapter abstract
The introduction presents the history of the journal from 1966, when it was
founded, to 1972, the year it was banned, a period that coincides with the
beginning of the "years of lead," as the oppressive regime of Hassan II is
known in Morocco, and discusses its evolution from Francophone poetry
review to French and Arabic tribune of the radical left. The editors
situate the journal's founding mission of "cultural decolonization" in
relation to the seminal writings of postcolonial theorist Frantz Fanon and
Maghrebi writers of the previous generation, such as Kateb Yacine, Malek
Haddad, and Albert Memmi. After a brief explanation of the selection and
translation of texts included in the anthology, the introduction ends by
assessing the journal's enduring legacy in Morocco, the Maghreb, and the
decolonizing world, and presents it as a precursor to the recent
pro-democracy protests across North Africa and the Middle East.
Part ISouffles 1-Souffles 3 (1966)
chapter abstract
This section begins with the incendiary manifesto-prologue of the founding
issue of Souffles, which breaks with previous attempts to imitate French
poetry and announces a new era of aesthetic innovation. In addition to
poetry by Abdellatif Laâbi, Mohammed Khaïr-Eddine, and Abdelkebir Khatibi,
this section includes a long essay on popular Moroccan poetry by Ahmed
Bouanani, a scathing critique by Abdallah Stouky of the 1966 World Festival
of Negro Arts held in Dakar, and of the philosophy of Negritude that
subtends it, and an essay on Maghrebi novel by Khatibi.
Part IISouffles 4-7-8 (1966-1967)
chapter abstract
This section is book-ended by two important editorials by Abdellatif Laâbi
on the decolonization of Moroccan culture, a double process involving a
sustained critique of Orientalism and the elaboration of non-derivative
literary forms. Laâbi's defense of a novel by the Moroccan writer Driss
Chraïbi as well as his fascinating interview with Chraïbi and a short
autobiographical text by the Tunisian writer Albert Memmi are also included
in this section, which is heavily focused on literary and artistic
expression. The final essay, by the art critic Toni Maraini, presents the
artwork of the "Casablanca group," as the graphic artists involved in the
creation of Souffles are known. Alongside works by Souffles-Anfas artistic
directors Mohamed Chebaa and Mohamed Melehi, this section includes
reproductions of artwork by Jilali Gharbaoui, Ahmed Cherkaoui, and other
pioneers of modern Moroccan art.
Part IIISouffles 9-13-14 (1968-1969)
chapter abstract
This section includes three bilingual issues featuring French-language
poems by Mostafa Nissabouri, Mohammed Ismaïl Abdoun, Tahar Ben Jelloun, and
Adbellatif Laâbi, and Arabic-language poems by Mohamed Zafzaf and Ahmed
al-Madini, introduced by the noted critic and writer Mohammed Berrada. The
journal sharpened its critique of Orientalism and racism during this period
with a condemnation by the Haitian writer René Depestre of François
Duvalier's oppressive regime-informed, according to him, by an essentialist
version of Negritude-a biting critique of Albert Camus by founding member
Bernard Jakobiak, and a sympathetic interview with the French anticolonial
theater director Jean-Marie Serreau that nevertheless warns against the
danger of appropriated Third World theater for European consumption.
Part IVSouffles 15-Anfas 7-8 (1969-1972)
chapter abstract
This section begins with the fifteenth issue of Souffles, devoted entirely
to the Palestinian question, and ends with a poem by the Sudanese poet
Muhammad al-Fayturi published in the last issue of Anfas, the companion
Arabic-language journal launched in 1971 and banned alongside Souffles in
1972. This final period of the journal is marked by a clear engagement for
Palestine, as evidenced in its special issue and subsequent editorials, as
well as for other anticolonial and leftist causes, most notably the
struggles for independence from Portugal in Africa and the plight of
Vietnam. Adopting a more accessible format and tone and an overtly
Marxist-Leninist editorial line, Souffles-Anfas became the tribune of the
Moroccan radical left in the closing years of the 1960s, and one of the
first victims of the clampdown on freedom of expression and opinion in
Morocco.