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Loading... In Tangierby Mohamed Choukri
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'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.' - From William Burroughs' introduction toJean Genet in Tangier Tangier, 'the most extraordinary and mysterious city in the world,' according to Mohamed Choukri, was a haven for many Western writers in the early twentieth century. Paul Bowles, Jean Genet, and Tennessee Williams all spent time there, and all were befriended by Choukri. Collected here together for the first time in English are Choukri's delightful recollections of these encounters, offering a truly fresh insight into the lives of these cult figures. The sights and sounds of 1970s Tangier are brought vividly alive, as are the larger-than-life characters of these extraordinary men, through ordinary everyday events. 'What Yacoubi would really like is a complete harem,' I said. We laughed. 'One handsome boy is enough for me,' said Tennessee. 'A boy who just happens by.' 'So you don't want a harem?' I said. 'No. Harems are always very tiring. They're no fun.' Mohamed Choukri (1935 - 2003) is one of North Africa's most controversial and widely read authors. After a childhood of poverty and petty crime, Choukri learned to read and write at the age of twenty. He then became a teacher and writer, finally being awarded the chair of Arabic literature at Ibn Batuta College in Tangier. His works includeFor Bread Alone andStreetwise (both available from Telegram). No library descriptions found. |
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 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)892.78609Literature Other literatures Afro-Asiatic literatures Arabic (Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan) Arabic miscellany 1945–2000LC ClassificationRatingAverage: (3.67)
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Wikipedia in English
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In this collection, originally three separate works, Choukri writes about his encounters, and even friendships, with Jean Genet, Tennessee Williams and Paul Bowles. He writes about both Paul and Jane Bowles, “Both of them believed that living was only possible if one mythologized one’s life,” but only Paul gets a chapter.
Jean Genet: “I hate all governments. I’m not welcome in the United States, for instance, because of my homosexuality and because of my criminal record. As if there were no ex-convicts or homosexuals in the United States!” And “The police have never been human, and the day they become human they’ll no longer be police.”
Choukri thought Tennessee Williams was happier than his writing. Williams invites him to visit in Key West, despite some misgivings, “If he does come, do you think he’ll destroy me?” and encourages his writing. Williams: “It would be better to be dead than to have to live surrounded only by stupid people.”
Choukri led a life of petty crime when younger and taught himself to read and write at twenty. As he meets these successful writers he compares them to their writing and tries to see what makes them tick. You can see him measuring himself against them as he strives to establish himself as a writer. And he does, with some success. (