Literature of Morocco
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| Moroccan authors |
| Forms |
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Novel - Poetry - Plays |
| Genres |
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Science Fiction |
| Criticism & Awards |
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Literary theory - Critics |
| See also |
|
Choukri - Ben Jelloun |
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Moroccan literature is a literature written in (Moroccan) Arabic, Berber or French, and of course particularly by people of Morocco, but also of Al-Andalus.
Contents |
[edit] 700 - 1500
The icon of Moroccan literature is Ibn Battuta (born 1304). Fez has one of the oldest universities in the world. Its University of the Al-Qarrawiyin was first built in 859, and soon became the principal center of higher learning in Morocco. From the beginning of the 12th century it had a great impact on learning both around the mediterranean and Europa. Among the scholars who studied and taught there were Ibn Khaldoun, Ibn al-Khatib, al-Bitruji, Ibn Harazim, Ibn Maymoun (Maimonides) and Ibn Wazzan and possibly even pope Sylvester II, who introduced the Arabic numerals into Europe.
Under the Almohad dynasty Morocco experienced a period of prosperity and brilliance of learning. The Almohad built the Marrakech Kutubiya Mosque, which accommodated no less than 25,000 people, but was also famed for its books, manuscripts, libraries and book shops, which gave it its name; the first book bazar in history. The Almohad Caliph Abu Yakub had a great love for collecting books. He founded a great library, which was eventually carried to the Casbah and turned into a public library. Under the Almohads, the sovereigns encouraged the construction of schools and libraries and sponsored scholars of every sort. Ibn Rushd (Averroes), Ibn Tufail, Ibn Zuhr and many more philosophers, poets and scholars found sanctuary and served the Almohad rulers. The heritage left by the literature of the time that saw the flowering of Al-Andalus has had its impact on Moroccan culture until the present day.
[edit] 1500 - 1900
The posession of manuscripts of famous writers remained the pride of courts and zawiyas throughout the history of Morocco until the modern times. The great Saadian ruler Ahmed al-Mansour (r.1578–1603)]] was a poet king and his dynasty contibuted greatly to the library of the Taroudant. Another library established in that was that of Tamegroute. A large part of it remains today. [1] 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[2].
Some of the main genres differed from what was prominent in European countries:
- Songs (religious poetry but also elegies and love poems) (like those of Muhammad Awzal (1670-1749)
- biographies and historical chronicles (like the biography of Ibn Sahl and the "Nuzhat al-hadi bi-akhbar muluk al-qarn al-hadi" of Mohammed El Ifrani (1670-1745)
- accounts of journey's like the "Rihla" of Ahmad Bennacer ((1647-1717)
- religious treatises and letters like those of Muhammad al-Arabi al-Darqawi (1760 - 1823) and Ahmad Ibn Idris Al-Fasi (1760-1837)
[edit] Modern times
Modern Moroccan literature began in the 1930s. Two main factors gave Morocco a pulse toward the development of modern Moroccan literature. Morocco, as a French and Spanish protectorate left Moroccan intellectuals the opportunity to exchange and to produce literary works freely enjoying the contact of other Arabic literature and Europa. During the 1950s and 1960s, Morocco was a refuge and artistic centre and attracted writers as Paul Bowles, Tennessee Williams, Brion Gysin, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac. Moroccan literature flourished with writers such as Mohamed Choukri, Driss Chraïbi, Mohamed Zafzaf and Driss El Khouri. Those novelists were just a few of the many novelists, poets and playwrights that were still to come.
In the 1960s, a group of writers founded a group called "Souffles" (Breaths) that initially was prohibited but later in 1972 gave impetus to the poetry and modern romantic works of many Moroccan writers.
[edit] List of Moroccan writers
[edit] References
- ^ Dalil Makhtutat Dar al Kutub al Nasiriya, 1985 (Catalog of the Nasiri zawiya in Tamagrut), (ed. Keta books)
- ^ Catalogue: Dérenbourg, Hartwig, Les manuscrits arabes de l'Escurial / décrits par Hartwig Dérenbourg. - Paris : Leroux [etc.], 1884-1941. - 3 volumes.
External links:
- About the great libraries of Morocco: The Khizanas Habsia (Royaume du Maroc, Ministère des Habous et des Affaires Islamiques) [1]
- Birth and Development of the Moroccan Short Story - by Abdellatif Akbib, Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Morocco [2]
[edit] See also
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