Literature of Morocco
Encyclopedia
Moroccan literature is a literature
written in (Moroccan) Arabic
, Berber
, French
or Spanish
and of course particularly by people of Morocco
, but also of Al-Andalus
.
Moroccan literature saw its first flowering in the period of the Almoravid dynasty (1040–1147). In this period two writers stand out: Ayyad ben Moussa
and Ibn Bajja and, in al-Andalus, Al-Tutili
, Ibn Baqi
, Ibn Khafaja
and Ibn Sahl
. An impression of a number of great poets of the period is given in anthologies and biographies like Kharidat al Qsar, Al Mutrib
and Mujam as-Sifr. From 1086 Morocco and Al-Andalus, with its rich tradition from the Umayyad
s, formed one state and the Almoravid sultans stimulated culture in their courts and in the country. Ibn Bassam
dedicated his anthology Dhakhira fî mahâsin ahl al-Gazira to Abu-Bakr Ibn-Umar
and Ibn Khaqan his Qala-id al-Iqyan to Yusuf ibn Tashfin
.
Under the Almohad dynasty (1147–1269) Morocco experienced another period of prosperity and brilliance of learning. The Almohad
built the Marrakech
Koutoubia Mosque, which accommodated no fewer than 25,000 people, but was also famed for its books, manuscripts, libraries and book shops, which gave it its name; the first book bazaar in history. The Almohad
sultan Abu Yaqub Yusuf
had a great love for collecting books. He founded a great private library, which was eventually moved to the kasbah
of Marrakech
and turned into a public library. Under the Almohad
s, the sovereigns encouraged the construction of schools and sponsored scholars of every sort. Ibn Rushd (Averroes
), Ibn Tufail
, Ibn Zuhr
, Ibn al-Abbar
, Ibn Amira
and many more poets, philosophers and scholars found sanctuary and served the Almohad
rulers.
During the reign of the Marinid dynasty (1215–1420) it was especially Sultan Abu Inan Faris
(r. 1349-1358) who stimulated literature. He built the Bou Inania Madrasa and created the library of the university of al-Qarawiyyin in Fez. At his invitation the icon of Moroccan literature Ibn Batuta returned to settle down in the city of Fez
and write his Rihla or travelogue in cooperation with Ibn Juzayy
. Abdelaziz al-Malzuzi
(-1298) and Malik ibn al-Murahhal
(1207–1300) are considered as the two greatest poets of the Marinid era. Historiographers were, among many others, Ismail ibn al-Ahmar
and Ibn Idhari
. Poets of Al-Andalus
, like Ibn Abbad al-Rundi
(1333–1390) and Salih ben Sharif al-Rundi
(1204–1285) settled in Morocco, often forced by the political situation of the Nasrid kingdom. Both Ibn al-Khatib
(1313–1374) and Ibn Zamrak
, vizirs and poets whose poems can be read on the walls of the Alhambra
, found shelter here. The heritage left by the literature of this time that saw the flowering of Al-Andalus
and the rise of three Berber dynasties had its impact on Moroccan literature throughout the following centuries.
played an important rule in the development of Moroccan literature. Among the scholars who studied and taught there were Ibn Khaldoun, Ibn al-Khatib
, al-Bitruji, Ibn Hirzihim
(Sidi Harazim), Ibn Maymoun (Maimonides
) and Al-Wazzan (Leo Africanus
). The writings of Sufi leaders have played an important role in Moroccan literature from this early period (e.g. Abu-l-Hassan ash-Shadhili
and al-Jazouli) until now (e.g. Muhammad ibn al-Habib
).
an ruler Ahmed al-Mansour
(r.1578–1603) was a poet king. Poets of his court were Ahmad Ibn al-Qadi
, Abd al-Aziz al-Fishtali
. Ahmed Mohammed al-Maqqari lived during the reign of his sons. The Saadi Dynasty contributed greatly to the library of the Taroudant
. Another library established in time that was that of Tamegroute
. A large part of it remains today.
By a strange coincidence the complete library of another Saadian ruler has also been transmitted to us to the present day. Due to circumstances in a civil war the sultan Zidan
(r.1603–1627) had his complete collection transferred to a ship. The commander of the ship stole the ship and brought it to Spain where the collection was transmitted to El Escorial
.
Some of the main genres differed from what was prominent in European countries:
Famous Moroccan poets of this period were Abderrahman El Majdoub
, Al-Masfiwi
, Muhammad Awzal
and Hemmou Talb
.
(1897–1955). The second generation was the one that played an important role in the transition to independence with writers like Abdelkrim Ghallab
(1919–2006), Allal al-Fassi
(1910–1974) and Mohammed al-Mokhtar Soussi
(1900–1963). The third generation is that of writers of the sixties. Moroccan literature then flourished with writers such as Mohamed Choukri
, Driss Chraïbi
, Mohamed Zafzaf
and Driss El Khouri
. Those writers were an important influence the many Moroccan novelists, poets and playwrights that were still to come.
During the 1950s and 1960s, Morocco was also a refuge for writers from abroad as Paul Bowles
, Tennessee Williams
, Brion Gysin
, William S. Burroughs
and Jack Kerouac
.
In 1966 a group of Moroccan writers founded a magazine called Souffles
(Breaths) that was prohibited
by the government in 1972 but gave impetus to the poetry
and modern romantic
works of many Moroccan writers.
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
written in (Moroccan) Arabic
Moroccan Arabic
Moroccan Arabic is the variety of Arabic spoken in the Arabic-speaking areas of Morocco. For official communications, the government and other public bodies use Modern Standard Arabic, as is the case in most Arabic-speaking countries. A mixture of French and Moroccan Arabic is used in business...
, Berber
Berber languages
The Berber languages are a family of languages indigenous to North Africa, spoken from Siwa Oasis in Egypt to Morocco , and south to the countries of the Sahara Desert...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
or Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
and of course particularly by people of Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, but also of Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...
.
1000 - 1500
Ayyad ben Moussa
Qadi Ayyad ibn Musa or Abu al-Fadl Ayyad ibn Amr ibn Musa ibn Ayyad ibn Muhammad ibn Abdillah ibn Musa ibn Ayyad al-Yahsubi al-Sabti born in Ceuta , then belonging to the Almoravid Empire, was the great imam of that city and, later, a high judge in...
and Ibn Bajja and, in al-Andalus, Al-Tutili
Al-Tutili
Al-A'ma al-Tutili was a Muwallad poet born in Tudela in Al-Andalus. Al-A'ma' means 'the blind one' and 'Tutili' means 'from Tudela'. He was raised in Seville there he gained talent in poetry, he later lived in Murcia. He died young...
, Ibn Baqi
Ibn Baqi
Ibn Baqi or Abu Bakr Yahya Ibn Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Rahman Ibn Baqi was an arab poet from Córdoba or Toledo in al-Andalus. Baqi is one of the best-known strophic poets and song writers of the Nasrid dynasty period in Al-Andalus. He moved between Morocco and Al-Andalus and wrote several poems...
, Ibn Khafaja
Ibn Khafaja
Ibn Khafaja or Abu Ishaq Ibn Ibrahim Ibn Abu Al-Fath Ibn Khafajah of Alzira was one of the most famous poets of Al-Andalus during the reign of the Almoravids. He was born in 1058 in Alzira near Valencia where he spent most of his life.He developed nature poetry to a great level of...
and Ibn Sahl
Ibn Sahl of Sevilla
Ibn Sahl of Seville is considered one of the greatest Moorish poets of Andalusia of the 13th century. He was a Jewish convert to Islam....
. An impression of a number of great poets of the period is given in anthologies and biographies like Kharidat al Qsar, Al Mutrib
Rawd al-Qirtas
is a history of Morocco written in Arabic in the 1326 C.E. It includes many details about the wider Moroccan empire in Iberian Peninsula and Algeria....
and Mujam as-Sifr. From 1086 Morocco and Al-Andalus, with its rich tradition from the Umayyad
Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate was the second of the four major Arab caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. It was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty, whose name derives from Umayya ibn Abd Shams, the great-grandfather of the first Umayyad caliph. Although the Umayyad family originally came from the...
s, formed one state and the Almoravid sultans stimulated culture in their courts and in the country. Ibn Bassam
Ibn Bassam
Ibn Bassam was a poet and historian from al-Andalus. He was born in Santarém and died in 1147....
dedicated his anthology Dhakhira fî mahâsin ahl al-Gazira to Abu-Bakr Ibn-Umar
Abu-Bakr Ibn-Umar
Abu Bakr ibn Umar ibn Ibrahim ibn Turgut, sometimes suffixed al-Sanhaji or al-Lamtuni was a chieftan of the Lamtuna Berbers of the western Sahara, and commander of the Almoravids from 1056 until his death....
and Ibn Khaqan his Qala-id al-Iqyan to Yusuf ibn Tashfin
Yusuf ibn Tashfin
Yusef ibn Tashfin also, Tashafin, or Teshufin; or Yusuf; was a king of the Almoravid empire, he founded the city of Marrakech and led the Muslim forces in the Battle of Zallaqa....
.
Under the Almohad dynasty (1147–1269) Morocco experienced another period of prosperity and brilliance of learning. The Almohad
Almohad
The Almohad Dynasty , was a Moroccan Berber-Muslim dynasty founded in the 12th century that established a Berber state in Tinmel in the Atlas Mountains in roughly 1120.The movement was started by Ibn Tumart in the Masmuda tribe, followed by Abd al-Mu'min al-Gumi between 1130 and his...
built the Marrakech
Marrakech
Marrakech or Marrakesh , known as the "Ochre city", is the most important former imperial city in Morocco's history...
Koutoubia Mosque, which accommodated no fewer than 25,000 people, but was also famed for its books, manuscripts, libraries and book shops, which gave it its name; the first book bazaar in history. The Almohad
Almohad
The Almohad Dynasty , was a Moroccan Berber-Muslim dynasty founded in the 12th century that established a Berber state in Tinmel in the Atlas Mountains in roughly 1120.The movement was started by Ibn Tumart in the Masmuda tribe, followed by Abd al-Mu'min al-Gumi between 1130 and his...
sultan Abu Yaqub Yusuf
Abu Yaqub Yusuf
Abu Ya`qub Yusuf or Yusuf I was the second Almohad Amir or caliph. He reigned from 1163 until 1184. He had the Giralda in Seville built....
had a great love for collecting books. He founded a great private library, which was eventually moved to the kasbah
Kasbah
A kasbah or qassabah is a type of medina, Islamic city, or fortress .It was a place for the local leader to live and a defense when a city was under attack. A kasbah has high walls, usually without windows. Sometimes, they were built on hilltops so that they could be more easily defended...
of Marrakech
Marrakech
Marrakech or Marrakesh , known as the "Ochre city", is the most important former imperial city in Morocco's history...
and turned into a public library. Under the Almohad
Almohad
The Almohad Dynasty , was a Moroccan Berber-Muslim dynasty founded in the 12th century that established a Berber state in Tinmel in the Atlas Mountains in roughly 1120.The movement was started by Ibn Tumart in the Masmuda tribe, followed by Abd al-Mu'min al-Gumi between 1130 and his...
s, the sovereigns encouraged the construction of schools and sponsored scholars of every sort. Ibn Rushd (Averroes
Averroes
' , better known just as Ibn Rushd , and in European literature as Averroes , was a Muslim polymath; a master of Aristotelian philosophy, Islamic philosophy, Islamic theology, Maliki law and jurisprudence, logic, psychology, politics, Arabic music theory, and the sciences of medicine, astronomy,...
), Ibn Tufail
Ibn Tufail
Ibn Tufail was an Andalusian Muslim polymath: an Arabic writer, novelist, Islamic philosopher, Islamic theologian, physician, vizier,...
, Ibn Zuhr
Ibn Zuhr
Abū Merwān ’Abdal-Malik ibn Zuhr was a Muslim physician, surgeon and teacher in Al-Andalus.He was born at Seville...
, Ibn al-Abbar
Ibn al-Abbar
Ibn al-Abbar, in full Abu Abd Allah Muhammad Ibn al-Abbar was a well-known poet, diplomat, theologian and scholar from al-Andalus and perhaps the most famous man of letters produced by the city of Valencia during the Middle Ages.Ibn al-Abbar began his official career as a secretary to the Muslim...
, Ibn Amira
Ibn Amira
Ibn Amira or Ahmad ibn Abd Allah Ibn Amira was a historian, poet, and scholar of law from al-Andalus during the reign of the Almohad dynasty...
and many more poets, philosophers and scholars found sanctuary and served the Almohad
Almohad
The Almohad Dynasty , was a Moroccan Berber-Muslim dynasty founded in the 12th century that established a Berber state in Tinmel in the Atlas Mountains in roughly 1120.The movement was started by Ibn Tumart in the Masmuda tribe, followed by Abd al-Mu'min al-Gumi between 1130 and his...
rulers.
During the reign of the Marinid dynasty (1215–1420) it was especially Sultan Abu Inan Faris
Abu Inan Faris
Abu Inan Faris was a Marinid ruler. He succeeded his father Abu al-Hasan ibn Uthman as sultan of Morocco in 1348. He died strangled by his vizier in 1358.- History :...
(r. 1349-1358) who stimulated literature. He built the Bou Inania Madrasa and created the library of the university of al-Qarawiyyin in Fez. At his invitation the icon of Moroccan literature Ibn Batuta returned to settle down in the city of Fez
Fes, Morocco
Fes or Fez is the second largest city of Morocco, after Casablanca, with a population of approximately 1 million . It is the capital of the Fès-Boulemane region....
and write his Rihla or travelogue in cooperation with Ibn Juzayy
Ibn Juzayy
Abū ʿAbdallāh Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad ibn Ahmad Ibn Juzayy al-Kalbi was a scholar, writer of poetry, history, and law from Al-Andalus. He is also known as the writer who dictated the travels of Ibn Battuta...
. Abdelaziz al-Malzuzi
Abdelaziz al-Malzuzi
Abu Faris Abdelaziz ibn Abdarrahman al-Malzuzi al-Miknasi is considered to be the greatest poet of the Marinid period. He is also well-known as an historian. There is little known about his life, besides that he was the court poet of Abu Yahya ibn Abd al-Haqq. Among his many poetical works is a...
(-1298) and Malik ibn al-Murahhal
Malik ibn al-Murahhal
Malik ibn al-Murahhal or Abu l-Hakam/Abu l-Mayd Malik ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Ali ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Faray ibn Azraq ibb Saad/Munir ibn Salim ibn Faray al-Masmudi al-Malaqi al-Sabti is considered to be one of the greatest Moroccan poets...
(1207–1300) are considered as the two greatest poets of the Marinid era. Historiographers were, among many others, Ismail ibn al-Ahmar
Ismail ibn al-Ahmar
Abu l-Walid Ismail Ibn al-Ahmar was a Moroccan historian of the fourteenth century, the time of the Marinid dynasty. He was a contemporary of Ibn Khaldoun.-Works:Books by Ibn al-Ahmar:...
and Ibn Idhari
Ibn Idhari
Abū al-Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Idhāri al-Marrākushi who lived in the late 13th and the early 14th century, was the author of an important medieval text on the history of the Maghreb and Iberia written in 1312.Little is known about the life of this author, who was born in Al-Andalus and...
. Poets of Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...
, like Ibn Abbad al-Rundi
Ibn Abbad al-Rundi
Ibn Abbad al-Rundi was one of the leading Sufi theologians of his time who was born in Ronda. Attracted to Morocco by the famous madrasahs, Ibn Abbad emigrated there at an early age...
(1333–1390) and Salih ben Sharif al-Rundi
Salih ben Sharif al-Rundi
Abu Muhammad Salih b. Abi Sharif al-Rundi was a poet from al-Andalus. He was born in Sevilla in 1204 and fled that town in 1248 and lived in Ceuta until his death in 1285. al-Rundi wrote a handbook on poetry...
(1204–1285) settled in Morocco, often forced by the political situation of the Nasrid kingdom. Both Ibn al-Khatib
Ibn al-Khatib
Lisan al-Din ibn al-Khatib was a poet, writer, historian, philosopher, physician and politician from Emirate of Granada. Some of his poems decorate the walls of the Alhambra in Granada.He was born at Loja, near Granada...
(1313–1374) and Ibn Zamrak
Ibn Zamrak
Ibn Zamrak or Abu Abd Allah Muhammad b, Yusuf b. Muhammad b. Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Yusuf al-Surayhi, was a poet and statesman from Granada, Al-Andalus. Some his poems still decorate the fountains and palaces of Alhambra in Granada.He was of humble origin but thanks to his teacher Ibn al-Khatib he...
, vizirs and poets whose poems can be read on the walls of the Alhambra
Alhambra
The Alhambra , the complete form of which was Calat Alhambra , is a palace and fortress complex located in the Granada, Andalusia, Spain...
, found shelter here. The heritage left by the literature of this time that saw the flowering of Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...
and the rise of three Berber dynasties had its impact on Moroccan literature throughout the following centuries.
University of Fez
From the beginning of the 12th century the University of FezUniversity of Al Karaouine
The University of Al-Karaouine or Al-Qarawiyyin is a university located in Fes, Morocco which was established in 1947. Its origins date back to 859, when it was founded as a mosque school or madrasa...
played an important rule in the development of Moroccan literature. Among the scholars who studied and taught there were Ibn Khaldoun, Ibn al-Khatib
Ibn al-Khatib
Lisan al-Din ibn al-Khatib was a poet, writer, historian, philosopher, physician and politician from Emirate of Granada. Some of his poems decorate the walls of the Alhambra in Granada.He was born at Loja, near Granada...
, al-Bitruji, Ibn Hirzihim
Ibn Hirzihim
For the teacher of Ash-Shadhili see Abu Abdallah ibn HarzihimSidi Ali ibn Harzihim or Abul Hasan Ali ibn Ismail ibn Mohammed ibn Abdallah ibn Harzihim/Hirzihim was born in Fes, Morocco and died in that same city in 559/1163. He was a Sufi teacher, leader of a Ghazalian zawiya in Fes and was the...
(Sidi Harazim), Ibn Maymoun (Maimonides
Maimonides
Moses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...
) and Al-Wazzan (Leo Africanus
Leo Africanus
Joannes Leo Africanus, was a Moorish diplomat and author who is best known for his book Descrittione dell’Africa describing the geography of North Africa.-Biography:Most of what is known about his life is gathered from autobiographical...
). The writings of Sufi leaders have played an important role in Moroccan literature from this early period (e.g. Abu-l-Hassan ash-Shadhili
Abu-l-Hassan ash-Shadhili
-Biography:He was born in a royal family of a business man in Berber Ghomara, near Ceuta in the north of Morocco in 1196. He studied in Fes. He set out across North Africa and into the Levant in the hope of finding the great living saint of his time . He started his journey in search of wisdom via...
and al-Jazouli) until now (e.g. Muhammad ibn al-Habib
Muhammad Ibn al-Habib
Sayyidi Muhammad ibn al-Habib ibn as-Siddiq al-Amghari al-Idrisi al-Hasani was an Islamic teacher, author, and shaykh of the Darqawa tariqa in Morocco.-Background:...
).
1500 - 1900
The possession of manuscripts of famous writers remained the pride of courts and zawiyas throughout the history of Morocco until the modern times. The great SaadiSaadi Dynasty
The Saadi dynasty of Morocco , began with the reign of Sultan Mohammed ash-Sheikh in 1554, when he vanquished the last Wattasids at the Battle of Tadla....
an ruler Ahmed al-Mansour
Ahmad I al-Mansur Saadi
Ahmad I al-Mansur was Sultan of the Saadi dynasty from 1578 to his death in 1603, the sixth and most famous of all rulers of the Saadis. He was the fifth son of Mohammed ash-Sheikh who was the first Saadi sultan of Morocco...
(r.1578–1603) was a poet king. Poets of his court were Ahmad Ibn al-Qadi
Ahmad Ibn al-Qadi
For the Egyptian encyclopedist see Shihab al-Din abu 'l-Abbas Ahmad ben Ali ben Ahmad Abd Allah al-QalqashandiAbu l-Abbas Ahmad Ibn Muhammad Ibn al-Qadi al-Miknasi was the leading writer from Ahmad al-Mansur's court next to Abd al-Aziz al-Fishtali. He was also a renowned judge and mathematician.A...
, Abd al-Aziz al-Fishtali
Abd al-Aziz al-Fishtali
Abu Faris Abd al-Aziz al-Fishtali was the secretary of state for correspondence and leading poet from Ahmad al-Mansur's court. He wrote 69 poems, numbering 1016 verses.The one surviving work from the pen of al-Fishtali, as the chief scribe of al-Mansur's state is: Manahil al-safa fi ma'athir...
. Ahmed Mohammed al-Maqqari lived during the reign of his sons. The Saadi Dynasty contributed greatly to the library of the Taroudant
Taroudant
Taroudant is a Moroccan city located in the Sous Valley in the southern part of the country. It is situated east of Agadir on the road to Ouarzazate and the Sahara desert and south of Marrakech. It is called the "Grandmother of Marrakech" because it looks like a smaller Marrakech with its...
. Another library established in time that was that of Tamegroute
Tamegroute
Tamegroute is a village in the south of Morocco, in the valley of the Draa River. It has a history as an important center of learning and religion through its famous Sufi zawiya, historical center of the Nasiriyya Sufi order, one of the most influential - and at one time one of the largest - Sufi...
. A large part of it remains today.
By a strange coincidence the complete library of another Saadian ruler has also been transmitted to us to the present day. Due to circumstances in a civil war the sultan Zidan
Zidan Abu Maali
Mawlay Zidan Abu Maali, sultan of Morocco of the Saadi Dynasty , son of Ahmad al-Mansur, residing in Marrakech.-Civil war:...
(r.1603–1627) had his complete collection transferred to a ship. The commander of the ship stole the ship and brought it to Spain where the collection was transmitted to El Escorial
El Escorial
The Royal Seat of San Lorenzo de El Escorial is a historical residence of the king of Spain, in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, about 45 kilometres northwest of the capital, Madrid, in Spain. It is one of the Spanish royal sites and functions as a monastery, royal palace, museum, and...
.
Some of the main genres differed from what was prominent in European countries:
- Songs (religious poetry but also elegies and love poems)
- biographies and historical chronicles like the "Nuzhat al-hadi bi-akhbar muluk al-qarn al-hadi" of Mohammed al-IfraniMohammed al-IfraniMohammed al-Ifrani was a Moroccan historian. He is noted as the author of Safwat man intashar, a compilation of biographies of 17th century Morrocan saints, as well as his 1724 history of the Saadi Dynasty.-External Links:...
(1670–1745), and the chronicles of Muhammad al-QadiriMuhammad al-QadiriMohammed ibn al-Tayyib al-Qadiri was a Moroccan historian and author of Nashir al-Mathani. This work is a biographical dictionary of 18th century Morocco, but each year is usually accompanied by a summary of events. In this sense, the form of the book tends toward being both that of a...
(1712–1773). - accounts of journey's like the rihlaRihlaRihla is a medieval book which recounts the journey of the 14th-century Berber Moroccan scholar and traveler Ibn Battuta.The oeuvre was written by Ibn Juzayy after he was commissioned by the Marinid Sultan Abu Inan who was impressed by the story and journey of Ibn Battuta.The term Rihla is a...
of Ahmed ibn NasirAhmed ibn NasirAhmed ibn Nasir was a Moroccan Sufi writer and teacher of the Nasiriyya zawiyya of Tamegroute. He made six pilgrimages to Mecca and made each of these pilgimages into a journey of several years. Sidi Ahmed ibn Nasir travelled to Ethiopia, Arabia, Egypt, Iraq and Persia...
(1647–1717) - religious treatises and letters like those of Muhammad al-Arabi al-Darqawi (1760–1823) and Ahmad Ibn Idris Al-FasiAhmad Ibn Idris al-FasiAhmad Ibn Idris al-Laraishi al-Yamlahi al-Alami al-Idrisi al-Hasani was a mystic and a theologian, active in Morocco, North Africa, and Yemen. He had opposed the Ulema and tried to preach a vigorous form of Islam that is close to ordinary people....
(1760–1837)
Famous Moroccan poets of this period were Abderrahman El Majdoub
Abderrahman El Majdoub
Sidi Abderrahman el Majdoub , also transcribed as Mejdub, full name Abou Mohamed Ben Ayad Ben Yacoub ben Salama Ben Khachachan Es Senhaji El Faradji Ed Doukkali el Majdoub , was a Moroccan poet. Many lines of his poems are known throughout the Maghreb, and his work is the source of many proverbs...
, Al-Masfiwi
Al-Masfiwi
Al-Masfiwi was a poet in the time of Ahmad al-Mansur. The surviving poetry of al-Masfiwi can be found in Manahil al-Safa, as well as in Kitab al-Istiqsa li-akhbar duwal al-Maghrib al-Aqsa by the nineteenth-century Moroccan historian, Abu al-Abbas Ahmad ibn Khalid al-Nasiri al-Salawi. The section...
, Muhammad Awzal
Muhammad Awzal
Mohammed Awzal , also known as Muhammad ibn Ali Awzal or al-Awzali was a religious Berber poet. He is considered the most important author of the Teshelhit literary tradition...
and Hemmou Talb
Hemmou Talb
Sidi Hemmou Talb was a Moroccan poet from the 18th century writing in Berber . Hemmou Talb was born in Awluz, and died in les Iskrouzen where his tomb has become the centre of pilgrimage. His nickname was bab n umargh, master of poetry. Tradition attributes a great number of poems to him that are...
.
Modern times
Three generations of writers especially shaped 20th century Moroccan literature. The first was the generation that lived and wrote during the Protectorate (1912–56), its most important representative being Mohammed Ben BrahimMohammed Ben Brahim
El Houari Mohammed Ben Brahim Assarraj was a poet from Morocco. He is especially well-known as the poet of Marrakech of the first part of the 20th century...
(1897–1955). The second generation was the one that played an important role in the transition to independence with writers like Abdelkrim Ghallab
Abdelkrim Ghallab
Abdelkrim Ghallab is a Moroccan political journalist, cultural commentator, and novelist. He is an important figure both in the literary and political field. He studied both at the University of Al-Karaouine in Fez and at the University of Cairo, where he took his M.A. in Arabic literature...
(1919–2006), Allal al-Fassi
Allal al-Fassi
Muhammad Allal al-Fassi , was a Moroccan politician, writer, poet and Islamic scholar.-Politics:He was born in Fes, Morocco, and founded the nationalist Istiqlal party which was a driving force in the Moroccan struggle for independence from French colonial rule...
(1910–1974) and Mohammed al-Mokhtar Soussi
Mohammed al-Mokhtar Soussi
Mohammed al-Mokhtar Soussi was a Moroccan scholar, politician and writer who played an important role in the years before Morocco's independence in 1956. Born in the vilage of Illigh , he was a soufi and an expert on the history of the Sous region and the founder of a school in Marrakesh...
(1900–1963). The third generation is that of writers of the sixties. Moroccan literature then flourished with writers such as Mohamed Choukri
Mohamed Choukri
Mohamed Choukri , born on July 15, 1935 and died on November 15, 2003, was a Moroccan author and novelist who is best known for his internationally acclaimed autobiography For Bread Alone , which was described by the American playwright Tennessee Williams as 'A true document of human desperation,...
, Driss Chraïbi
Driss Chraïbi
Driss Chraïbi was a Moroccan author whose novels deal with colonialism, culture clashes, generational conflict and the treatment of women and are often semi-autobiographical....
, Mohamed Zafzaf
Mohamed Zafzaf
Mohamed Zafzaf was one of the best known Moroccan novelists and poets writing in Arabic.-Biography:Zafzaf lived in Casablanca where he wrote his stories and articles and translated books from Spanish and French...
and Driss El Khouri
Driss El Khouri
Driss El Khouri is one of the most acclaimed Moroccan novelists. His books convey strongly the feel of everyday Moroccan life in coffee shops and other urban settings and show a firm commitment to representing the voices of marginalised members of society....
. Those writers were an important influence the many Moroccan novelists, poets and playwrights that were still to come.
During the 1950s and 1960s, Morocco was also a refuge for writers from abroad as Paul Bowles
Paul Bowles
Paul Frederic Bowles was an American expatriate composer, author, and translator.Following a cultured middle-class upbringing in New York City, during which he displayed a talent for music and writing, Bowles pursued his education at the University of Virginia before making various trips to Paris...
, Tennessee Williams
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...
, Brion Gysin
Brion Gysin
Brion Gysin was a painter, writer, sound poet, and performance artist born in Taplow, Buckinghamshire.He is best known for his discovery of the cut-up technique, used by his friend, the novelist William S. Burroughs...
, William S. Burroughs
William S. Burroughs
William Seward Burroughs II was an American novelist, poet, essayist and spoken word performer. A primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodernist author, he is considered to be "one of the most politically trenchant, culturally influential, and innovative artists of the 20th...
and Jack Kerouac
Jack Kerouac
Jean-Louis "Jack" Lebris de Kerouac was an American novelist and poet. He is considered a literary iconoclast and, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Kerouac is recognized for his spontaneous method of writing, covering topics such as Catholic...
.
In 1966 a group of Moroccan writers founded a magazine called Souffles
Souffles (magazine)
Souffles was established by a small group of self-professed 'linguistic guerrillas' as "a manifesto for a new aesthetics in the Maghreb". This magazine became a conduit for a new generation of writers, artists, and intellectuals to stage a revolution against imperialist and colonial cultural...
(Breaths) that was prohibited
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
by the government in 1972 but gave impetus to the poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
and modern romantic
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
works of many Moroccan writers.
External links
- Poetry International Web, Morocco http://morocco.poetryinternationalweb.org/piw_cms/cms/cms_module/index.php?obj_name=morocco
- Abdellatif Akbib, Abdelmalek Essaadi, Birth and Development of the Moroccan Short Story, University, Morocco http://rmmla.wsu.edu/old/54.1/articles/akbib.html
- Suellen Diaconoff, Professor of French, Colby College: Women writers of Morocco writing in French, 2005 (Survey) http://www.colby.edu/personal/s/s_diacon/bibliography.html
- The Postcolonial Web, National University of Singapore, The Literature of Morocco: An Overview http://www.scholars.nus.edu.sg/landow/post/morocco/literature/litov.html
- M.R. Menocal, R.P. Scheindlin and M. Sells (ed.) The Literature of Al-Andalus, Cambridge University Press (chapter 1), 2000 http://www.humanities.wisc.edu/programs/downloads/Intro%20CHAL-Andalus%20.pdf
- Said I. Abdelwahed, Professor of English Literature English Department, Faculty of Arts, Al-Azhar University Gaza, Palestine, Troubadour Poetry: An Intercultural Experience http://www.arabworldbooks.com/Literature/troubadour_poetry.htm
- In Spanish: Enciclopedia GER, P. Martsnez Montávez, "Marruecos (magrib Al-agsá) VI. Lengua y Literatura." retrieved on 28 February 2008
See also
- Culture of MoroccoCulture of MoroccoMorocco is a country of multi-ethnic groups with a rich culture, civilization, and etiquette. Through Moroccan history, Morocco hosted many people in addition to the indigenous Berbers, coming from both East , South and North . All of which have had an impact on the social structure of Morocco...
- Music of MoroccoMusic of MoroccoThe music of Morocco ranges and differs according to the various areas of the country.-Berber folk music:There are three varieties of Berber folk music: village and ritual music, and the music performed by professional musicians....