Souffles (magazine)
Encyclopedia
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 domination. The starting point for this revolution was language.
From its first issue, Souffles posed an aggressive challenge to the traditional Francophone
and Arabophone literary divides by encouraging experimentation, translations and collaborations. It wasn't long before its trademark cover emblazoned with an intense black sun radiated throughout Africa, the Arab world, West Indies and the Black Atlantic. In the early 70s the magazine changed focus. Motivated by the crushing Arab defeat in the Six-Day War
and the Paris uprisings, its founder, editor and publisher Abdellatif Laabi
declared that "Literature was no longer sufficient". After the fifteenth issue, dedicated to Palestine
, Souffles underwent a major redesign, emerging as a new firebrand organ of leftist revolutionary group, Ila al-Amam (Morocco)
. This new political agenda caught the attention of the authorities and in 1972 the magazine was banned and Laabi arrested. While in prison he was awarded several international poetry prizes. After a long solidarity campaign, he regained his freedom in 1980.
Maghreb
The Maghreb is the region of Northwest Africa, west of Egypt. It includes five countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania and the disputed territory of Western Sahara...
". This magazine became a conduit for a new generation of writers, artists, and intellectuals to stage a revolution against imperialist and colonial cultural domination. The starting point for this revolution was language.
From its first issue, Souffles posed an aggressive challenge to the traditional Francophone
Francophone
The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....
and Arabophone literary divides by encouraging experimentation, translations and collaborations. It wasn't long before its trademark cover emblazoned with an intense black sun radiated throughout Africa, the Arab world, West Indies and the Black Atlantic. In the early 70s the magazine changed focus. Motivated by the crushing Arab defeat in the Six-Day War
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War , also known as the June War, 1967 Arab-Israeli War, or Third Arab-Israeli War, was fought between June 5 and 10, 1967, by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt , Jordan, and Syria...
and the Paris uprisings, its founder, editor and publisher Abdellatif Laabi
Abdellatif Laabi
Abdellatif Laâbi is a Moroccan poet, born in 1942 in Fes, Morocco.Laâbi, then teaching French, founded with other poets the artistic journal Souffles, an important literary review in 1966...
declared that "Literature was no longer sufficient". After the fifteenth issue, dedicated to Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
, Souffles underwent a major redesign, emerging as a new firebrand organ of leftist revolutionary group, Ila al-Amam (Morocco)
Ila al-Amam (Morocco)
Ila al-Amam was a Marxist group in Morocco founded by the Moroccan engineer Abraham Serfaty and other left-wing activists in 1970. It was an underground movement whose members lived in hiding and distributed political leaflets. Most of its members were arrested and imprisoned in 1974 and received...
. This new political agenda caught the attention of the authorities and in 1972 the magazine was banned and Laabi arrested. While in prison he was awarded several international poetry prizes. After a long solidarity campaign, he regained his freedom in 1980.