Driss Chraïbi centenary tribute set for Paris

The centenary of Moroccan author Driss Chraïbi (1926-2026) will be celebrated on June 6 in Paris by the Council of the Moroccan Community Abroad (CCME) and the Arab World Institute (IMA). The tribute aims to «bring his essential works back into the spotlight, so that they can be reread today not only as a testimony to the past, but also as a still-relevant reflection on society, immigration, equality, and relations between Morocco and his host country», according to a statement.

The goal is to celebrate «a visionary body of work that, since the 1950s, has continually questioned the relationships between tradition and modernity, exile and identity, memory and transmission». The tribute will feature several highlights, including two round-table discussions with writers, researchers, and leading figures from the cultural world.

The first will focus on the theme of «Exile and immigration: the resonance of Driss Chraïbi’s work from the 1950s to the present day». It will bring together Salim Jay, Mohamed Hmoudane, Driss El Yazami, and Nadia Hathroubi Safsaf, with Selma Bensouda moderating.

The second, «Driss Chraïbi’s legacy for future generations», will center on the publication of a box set of seven novels by Driss Chraïbi. It will be «punctuated by bilingual readings by Mohamed Hmoudane and Maya Racha». It will bring together Sheena Chraïbi, Kacem Basfao, and Leïla Bahsaïn, with Fadwa Miadi moderating. The tribute will continue with a performance by storyteller Halima Hamdane.

The Driss Chraïbi box set, published by the CCME and Le Fennec Éditions in Casablanca, comprises seven novels: «Le Passé simple» (1954), «La Civilisation, ma mère !» (1972), «Succession ouverte» (1962), «Les Boucs» (1955), «Naissance à l’aube» (1986), «La Mère du printemps» (2008), and «Une enquête au pays» (1981). A second box set, currently in preparation, will bring together four of Driss Chraïbi’s novels translated into Arabic.

The day will conclude with a screening of Ahmed El Maanouni’s documentary «Conversations avec Driss Chraïbi» (53 min., 2007), recorded one year before the writer’s death.