Casablanca International Bookfair Highlights

The International Book and Trade Fair (SIEL) will be held from the 10th to 19th of February at the Casablanca International Fair. This year the fair is celebrating the eleven countries of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS)

While it is a great opportunity to cruise the shelves for new reading material - but there are some special sessions not to be missed.

El Maleh

The year SIEL celebrates the centenary of the birth of the intellectual and fervent militant, Edmond Amran El Maleh. El Maleh was born into a Jewish family from Safi and moved to Paris in 1965, working there as a journalist and a teacher of philosophy.

He began writing in 1980, at the age of 63, traveling back and forth between France and Morocco. He stated that, in spite of his long stay in France, he had devoted his entire literary life to Morocco. From 1999 until his death he lived in Rabat. He was buried, according to his wishes, in the Jewish cemetery in Essaouira.

An interesting discussion of El Maleh and his writing will feature guests, Royal Advisor André Azoulay, writer and poet Hassan Nejmi, and Myriem Khrouz, deputy secretary general of the Edmond Amran El Maleh Foundation. The discussion will take place February 10th at the hall Edmond Amran El Maleh Hall at 5pm.

On February 11 at the France stand at 11 am,  journalists Houdaifa Hicham and Mohamed Samouni present Radicalisation: An evil with many faces, an investigative book on the different facets of the burning issue of radicalisation in Morocco. From Islamic education textbooks to the recent ban on the manufacture and sale of the burqa through to Daech supporting Moroccans.

Also on February 11 at 14.30 at the French stand, author and journalist Kenza Sefrioui outlines the Kingdom's reading problems in "Le livre à l'épreuve" on understanding the existential problems related to reading and books in Morocco.

ECCAS: culture in the postcolonial era. How do the creators of Central Africa think of the relationship to the self and to the other? This is the idea that will be discussed by Suzana Micue Obama Eyang and Estanislao Medina Huesca, from Equatorial Guinea. February 12 at the Ibn Battuta room from 6:30 pm

Tales: Latina style - this is the topic on February 14th at the Spanish stand at 10:30. This is an opportunity to listen to Beatriz Montero, writer and interpreter of children's stories talking about the secrets of the art of telling stories.  This should be fun!

Beatriz Montero

On February 16 at the Ibn Battuta room from 12:30 Amazigh (Berber) poetry: Hassan Aourid. The former historian of the kingdom Hassan Aourid engaged in "What says Reed / May day ttini uyannin " a collection of 93 poems written in Amazigh and translated into French. He discusses the period before his visit to the Royal College (he studied with Mohammed VI), his origins, his loves and his wounds.

Hassan Aourid

Magazine Souffles: poets and readings - On February 18 at the Africa hall from 18:30. This reading session of the emblematic cultural magazine Souffles will be organized by the Ministry of Culture and the Foundation Abdellatif Laâbi. The texts will be read by the poets Mostafa Nissabouri, Abdellatif Laâbi and artist Touda Bouanani, among others.

Tribute to Gonzalo Rojas: 100 years after. February 18th at the Edmond Amran El Maleh room from 6pm.. Al fondo de todo duerme a caballo  is a documentary about one of the greatest Chilean poets, Gonzalo Rojas, who died in  2011.

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Lost in Translation and the Need for a Poet

For Arabic and French speakers wanting to delve deeper into the Moroccan psyche, there are plenty of books available. However, if you are an English speaker, the range is extremely limited. This is not just a problem for prospective readers but lack of access to translators is also an issue for authors. Recently, The View From Fez, sat down with two Moroccan writers to discuss the problem

Fouad Guessous

Fouad Guessous is a man with a deep love and knowledge of Melhoun poetry. Melhoun is said to have first emerged as a pure literary creation in the Tafilalet oases of southern Morocco in the fifteenth century. And it is from this region that Fouad Guessous opens his remarkable compilation of sixty-three poems in the original Arabic alongside superb French translations. The first two of the thirty-two poets, to whom he introduces the reader, hail from Tafilalet - Mohammed Masmoudi (17th C) and the man who laid down the rules that allowed enrichment of the art form, Abdeleziz Maghraoui.

Today the Melhoun form has spread through the Maghreb, where it is referred to as laqsida in Moroccan Arabic. In standard Arabic it is known as 'qasida" (Arabic: القصيدة) or "zajal" (Arabic: الزجل).

The laqsida is usually in three parts. There is an overture followed by verses sung solo, which in turn are interrupted by the harba refrain between the verses. Another refrain, called dridka (Arabic: الدريدكة) is a simplified form of the harba, taking off from an accelerated rhythm to announce the end of a laqsida.

Fouad Guessous points out that the "true Melhoun" is the section that is sung solo, while the instrumental music of the harba is purely to allow the singer a short break. Morocco produced a great number of poets from Fez, Meknes and Marrakech who adopted the Melhoun form to spread popular poetry.

Guessous's compilation of sixty-three laqsida, is above all a work of love. The translations to the French are superbly crafted and deserve to be read far wider than by those for whom Melhoun is simply the object of academic study. Therein lies the problem. Although the first edition was published back in 2008, Guessous has yet to find a translator to bring the poems to English speakers.

Guessous is adamant, "Translation is a difficult task at the best of times, but much more so when the text is poetic. It needs a poet. It must be the work of a poet." He has yet to find one.

In the same predicament is Hamadcha Sufi Tariqa (Brotherhood) mqaddem (leader) Abderrahim Amrani, who has compiled an impressive list of contributors to a book on the poetry of the Hamadcha Tariqa in Sidi Ali. The book is available only in Arabic, but a French edition is expected in the near future. However, like Fouad Guessous, Abderrahim knows that an English language edition is the key to wider exposure.

Amrani's collection of articles, poetry and historical photographs of the Hamadcha Brotherhood and the Mausoleum of the Tariqa's founder, Sidi Ali Ben Hamdoush, is a gem. The title of the book is itself poetic in Arabic, translating (perhaps) as "The Book of Watering the Flowers of Sidi ibn Hamdoush". In Moroccan Arabic the word used for "book" in the title is an old and very poetic form kunnäsh, rendering the title as:

Kunnäsh Azzahr al Marshoush

Fi Qasäid Sidi Ali Ibn Hamdoush

For those interested in the Hamadcha, this book is essential reading and the photographs from the turn of last century are historically important. The more modern history of the Hamadcha, such as their highly successful tour in Australia, sadly don't get a mention.

Amrani and Guessous - two characters in search of a translating poet

Once again this is a book that, as Guessous said, needs a poet as translator. To let it rest among the huge list of works untranslated would be a shame for those who love the Sufi tradition in Morocco.

Text and photographs: Sandy McCutcheon

Anthologie de la poésie du Melhoun marocain by Fouad Guessous ISBN 978-9954-8323-6-X
Kunnâsh Azzahr Al-Maroush Fi Qasâid Sidi Ali Ibn Hamdoush by Abderrahim Amrani published by Gnôsis - Éditions de France - (Yahya Cheikh) ISBN 978-2-35750-015-0

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Devon Glover, “The Sonnet Man,” in Concert!

The Sonnet Man sets Shakespeare’s love sonnets to Hip Hop and features brilliant rap artist Devon Glover. Conceived and produced by Broadway Playwright Arje Shaw, The Sonnet Man brings Shakespeare to young audiences in a genre they know and love. Mr. Glover’s flow embodies the richness of Shakespeare’s language, and his passionate, yet natural delivery offers an inspiring, creative experience

This concert, organised by the ALC-ALIF Music Club & Poetry Club, is free and open to the general public.

Here’s Devon’s Hip-Hop version of Hamlet:
https://youtu.be/z_RTrq4mrSg

Devon Glover, “The Sonnet Man,” in Concert!
Friday, May 13 at 7 PM, ALIF Riad, 6 Derb Drissi, Batha
Here’s the location of the ALIF Riad:
https://goo.gl/maps/jYicm7ZC1ND2

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Poetry Slam in Fez!

This Saturday (March 19), the French Institute in Fez is holding an open stage poetry slam - and everyone is invited to take part!

This "Slam Evening" will be hosted by Dominique Massaut. Everyone can participate. The principle is simple: one poem per person, not read, but recited by heart. Poems can be up to 3 minutes maximum, without staging or music.

There will also be a mix of young talent slam workshops, teachers, students and budding poets.

The evening will be a true celebration of poetry!

When and where?  7pm at Dar Batha


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Al-Andalus - Restitution - A musical and poetic tale - Free Concert

The French Institute in Fez presents a free concert this Friday - In the footsteps of Al-Andalus - Restitution - A musical and poetic tale

Friday, October 30th, 19h, Dar Batha. Entry is free

Fréderic Calmes/Narrator. Leo Fabre Cartier/Oud. Milan Otal/lute and composer Vincent Trollet.

Vincent Trollet was born in Pau in 1978. He began his musical studies in his hometown and continued at the Conservatory of Toulouse and Paris. In 2007 he joined the High School of Music of Geneva where he obtained a Bachelor and a Masters in Composition. Aware of the new opportunities that open up with computer music, he decided to complete his training by studying the musical acoustics at the National Conservatory of Music in Paris and at IRCAM in Paris.

Inspired in many of his works by medieval music, he collaborates with researchers, particularly medievalists, and ethnomusicologists.

Artist in residence, Vincent Trollet is sponsored by the French Institute of Morocco

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The Town of Midelt ~ A Poet's View

The View from Fez has always avoided publishing poetry but we are happy to break that policy to bring you a fine piece of work by Christina Ammon. Christina recently organised a highly successful writers' retreat in Fez and Moulay Idriss. Following the retreat she and some friends headed towards the Sahara. On the way they stopped off in Midelt, a town that most people normally drive straight through. It was a productive stop

Midelt
(For Anna and Sid)

They said there was nothing there;
A nowhere town.
Nothing to do.

But we went there anyway
and walked along the fossil bed
that formed the edge of town.

The highway-side glinted with broken glass
and trash was everywhere
Still everything looked so pretty
in that pre-Saharan light.

They said there was nothing there
but we set off anyways
in search of something sweet.
We found crepes du Maroc and
a street vendor willing to fill
our strange longings
with honey and with cheese.

They said there was nothing to do there
but we walked and we ate and played shadow puppets
in the orange alpenglow of a derelict building.
Sid clicked the camera
and Anna modeled beneath the graffiti bones
of a faded spray-paint skeleton.

They said there was nothing there
But we found orange carts and mosque songs and
old ladies who carried eggs.
There were sidewalks and tables and men who drank nus-nus under the dimming evening spectre
of the High Atlas Mountains.

A chill beset us as we walked away from Midelt.
They said there was nothing there
but Anna carried a bag full of dinner.
“Like Pirata,” said Sid and I speculated, too:
“Like tortillas and salsa, chapatti and chutney.”

It doesn’t matter said Anna
because fry bread is fry bread and
it is good, no matter the country.

They said there was nothing there
But we found poetry and a poolside and
while the Big Dipper doused with wine
we stripped off the façade of Kasbah-Asmaa in that
quickening
desert
night.

They said there was nothing there
But then plates arrived with crescent cookies and
sugared roses and
coconut macaroons.

The next morning we were met with coffee, croissants and
a traveler named Chris
and left Midelt asking
just what is the difference, then, between
someplace and noplace
and everyplace.

Pancakes for poets in Medelt ~ Anna Elkins (left) Christina Ammon (right)

Words by Christina Ammon
Photographs by Siddharth Gupta


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Poetry Slam in Fez

FRANCOPHONIE WEEK
SPRING POETS

POETRY FESTIVAL AND SLAM 

Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 March, 19h, Dar Batha

Free admission 

In partnership with the Association of Fez Sun and the Association of Friends of the School Bab Riafa 

As part of the Semaine de la francophonie and spring poets, the French Institute in Fez Morocco has organised the second Festival of Slam. An evening of "talent" - the festival will be held from March 23 to 24 and we are pleased to welcome many artists from Morocco, France and elsewhere, while respecting the principle of the "open stage".

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Big Bridge Features Fifteen Moroccan Poets

Finding translations of Moroccan poets is usually a real struggle. However now we can report that fifteen Moroccan poets are featured in Big Bridge’s starter-anthology, edited by poet-translator El Habib Louai. Their influences are at least as wide as Darwish, al-Chebbi, T.S. Eliot, and Baudelaire.

Big Bridge and its editor, Michael Rothenberg and co-editor, Terri Carrion (pictured above) are to be congratulated. Big Bridge is an amazing resource and certainly worth spending time exploring. You will find Big Bridge here.

The poems are translated by the anthology’s editor, El Habib Louai.

Links to all the poets’ work:

Boujema El Aoufi	Idriss Allouch
Mubarak Ouassat	Najat Zbair
Saad Sarhan	Ikram Abdi
Amal Al Akhdar	Mustafa Radki
Jamal Bdouma	Abdellatif Al Badadi, translated by El Habib Louai
El Habib Louai	Abdellatif Al Ouarari
Mahdi Qeraz	Mohamed Mahou
Bouchra Yassine

And as a little taste of the fine work....


Casablanca - Ikram Abdi

Nothing but the bodies of floating ice
Bubbles of cold greetings
Swaying over a sea of noise and boredom
But you go
Groping her tired face
With obliterated features

Caressing tufts of its canned sun
Crossing its bleeding streets
With frosty steps
With Bereaved Features
With necktie like gallows
In deserted premises

Dig in your forehead distant grooves
Awakening the lust of hugs in your interiority
But there you go....

Think of your walking death on the sidewalk
Ask about the color of your shrouds
The form of your funeral
Who will walk in it
Who will say the prayers
All the hands beseeching the roof of the bus
But there you go
You wish to utter this weakened scream
Sitting in your ethereal cafe Casablanca
The sad clouds of your coffee
Thicken in the sky of a newspaper
Suspended in your shivering hands
It is raining blood
Havoc
Shells

El Habib Louai  is a fine translator.  He completed his primary and secondary school studies in his hometown Taroudant. He obtained a Baccalaureate with a focus on Lettres Modernes from Ibn Souleiman Roudani in 2004. He also earned a Bachelor in English Studies with a concentration in literature from Ibn Zohr University in Agadri, Morocco.

He is at the moment completing a master's degree in comparative studies at Ibn Zohr University in Agadir, Morocco. He is involved in various projects having to do with poetry translation. His poems were published in various international literary magazine, journals and reviews such as Danse Macabre du Jour, Palestine Chronicle, Troubadour 21, Sagarana, Istanbul Literary Review, Indigo Rising Magazine, Pirene's Fountain, the Tower Journal and Contemporary Critical Horizons.

His translation of a collection of poems by the exiled Iranian poet Ali Abdelrezaei is available in poetrymag.ws. His poem "A Night in Tunisia" was translated into Italian and Romanian. His paper "Retracing the Concept of the Subaltern from Gramsci to Spivak: Historical Development and New Application" was published in the African Journal of History and Culture last January 2012.

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Moroccan Poets Unite with the World

Thirty-five poets, musicians and keen listeners turned out for the 100,000 Poets for Change event yesterday afternoon. Held at Cafe Clock, it was one of many affiliated events world-wide on the same day.  - Suzanna Clarke reports.

Fez poet Ahmed El Inani reads his work

 The aim was to encourage people to "slow down, think, listen and feel more deeply," according to poet Fatima Bouhraka, President of the Moroccan House of Poetry Association.

Fatima Bouhraka reading

 One of the event organisers, Mustafa Bokkoli Ferchokhi, said that the Fez event was one of two in Morocco, with the other occurring in Agadir. "Our main purpose is to re-direct social and political discourse - to sensitise people to social issues such as poverty. The world has always been changed by language. We hope (with events such as this), we can bring about increased awareness."

Event organiser Mustafa Bokkoli Ferchokhi

 While most poets were from Fez, some had travelled from far to share their work, giving readings in Darija and French. There were even a couple of poems in English.

Kacem Loubay from Kenitra, winner of this year's Naji Naaman Literary Prize, said that "to be a poet is to feel like an exile - it is important to try and connect with the wider community."

Said Abdelhadi, from Rabat, said that "poets have always articulated the desire for freedom. Words can make a difference".

Between readings, participants and listeners - many of whom were aspiring writers - enjoyed traditional Moroccan music and sipped on orange juice and other refreshments, provided courtesy of the American Language Center.

The View From Fez team was represented in the poetry readings by Sandy McCutcheon, who read a poem he had composed while walking to the event. It included the lines:

My poems are refugees from literature...

My poems bleed onto paper

White as a winding sheet for the dead

My poems feed on one word

That word is hope.

Photographs: Suzanna Clarke

Happening Today in Fez

A FRIENDLY REMINDER!

CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE

100 THOUSAND POETS FOR CHANGE

THIS GLOBAL EVENT IS AT CAFE CLOCK THIS AFTERNOON @ 4.30

See our full story here

Cafe Clock to Host 100 Thousand Poets !

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100 THOUSAND POETS FOR CHANGE

IS ORGANIZING A GLOBAL EVENT AT CAFE CLOCK ON SEPTEMBER 24th 2011

An amazing 600 events in 450 cities and 95 countries will take place on September 24 to promote environmental, social, and political change. Poets, writers, artists will create, perform and demonstrate in their communities, and decide their own specific area of focus for change within the framework of peace and sustainability, which founder Michael Rothenberg stated, “…is a major concern worldwide and the guiding principle for this global event.”

The beauty of the concept of 100 Thousand Poets for Change is that it is completely decentralized and completely inclusive. All those involved are hoping, through their actions and events, to seize and redirect the political and social dialogue of the day and turn the narrative of civilization towards peace and sustainability.

Poetry demonstrations are being organized in political hotspots such as Madison, Wisconsin and Cairo, Egypt. A poetry and peace gathering is planned in strife-torn Kabul and Jalalabad and at Cafe Clock here in Fez.

Examples of events can be found at the 100 Thousand Poets for Change. Each event organizer has an Event Location blog page on the website for posting, poetry, artwork, photos, and video to document this global mega-event across national borders.

Immediately following September 24th all documentation on the 100TPC.org website will be preserved by Stanford University in California, which has recognized 100 Thousand Poets for Change as an historical event, the largest poetry reading in history.

For more information check out the website 100 Thousand Poets

600 Events – 450 Cities – 95 Countries

So, make a note in your diary and join other poets from Morocco and beyond at Cafe Clock between 4.30 pm and 7.30 pm on September 24th, in a demonstration/celebration of poetry to promote serious social, environmental, and political change. The event is sponsored by Cafe Clock and the American Language Center, with the support of The View from Fez.

A Moroccan Poet, Born In Fez, Honoured in France

The Academie Francaise, official guardian of the French language, announced yesterday (Thursday) thaT it will recognise 70 people in its 2011 round of prize giving, including Moroccan Abdellatif Laabi and the Algerian writer Yasmina Khadra.

The main literature prize, le Grand Prix de Litterature Henri Gal worth 40,000 euros (448,000 Moroccan Dirhams), will go to Khadra, whose real name is Mohammed Moulessehoul,

Abdellatif Laabi

Abdellatif Laabi will be awarded a prize worth 22,500 euros (252,000 Dirhams).

Abdellatif Laâbi, a Moroccan poet, born in 1942 in Fes, was a recent visitor to the Fez Festival of World Sacred Music where he took part in the forum discussion on "The Arab spring: new horizons in the Maghreb". He won Le prix Goncourt in 2009.

"Everything which the Arab reality offers that is generous, open and creative is crushed by regimes whose only anxiety is to perpetuate their own power and self-serving interest. And what is often worse is to see that the West remains insensitive to the daily tragedy while at the same time accommodating, not to say supporting, the ruling classes who strangle the free will and aspirations of their people." ~Abdellatif Laabi

Laâbi, started work in the 1960's as a French teacher and was responsible in 1966 for the founding, with other poets, of the important artistic and literary journal, Souffles. It quickly crystallized all Moroccan creative energies: painters, film-makers, men of theatre, researchers and thinkers. It was banned in 1972, but throughout its short life, it opened up to cultures from other countries of the Maghreb and those of the Third World.

Abdellatif Laâbi was sentenced to ten years in prison for "crimes of opinion" (for his political beliefs and his writings) and served a sentence from 1972-1980. He was then forced into exile in France,.

Laabi has lived in Paris since 1985, and since 1988, is a member of the Académie Mallarmé. Laabi is respected as a defender of other writers who are persecuted for their writing, including Salman Rushdie.

Beirut39 Artists' Residencies in Fez

A LITERARY FEBRUARY IN FES:
Three Writers and Ten Poets in Fes

"From early in its history, Fes has been both a refuge and a convener of some of the greatest minds in the Arab world", explains Lori Wood of Fes Medina. "We are delighted to extend this ancient tradition of welcome in Fes to a new generation of Arab writers, and beyond".

This month there are three Arab writers in residence in the Fez medina. They are all winners of the Beirut39 literary prize, and are in the city to complete their latest work. Lori is a long-term but part-time resident of Fez. Here she tells us about the programme:

BEIRUT39 IN FES:
During the month of February 2011, the Fes medina welcomes three Arab writers, winners of the Beirut39 literary prize, for the first in what we hope will be a tradition of literary and artistic residencies in the medina of Fes. Palestinian writer Adania Shibli, Saudi novelist Yahya Amqassim, and Lebanese novelist and poet Hyam Yared are now being hosted in restored traditional houses throughout the medina of Fes. Each house has been donated by its owner as a gift of time to these writers, who are now working in these quiet environments toward the completion of their current literary work.

Yahya Amqassim

Hyam Yared

ABOUT BEIRUT39
The Beirut39 literary prize was awarded to 39 Arab writers under the age of 39, from 13 Arab countries, who were chosen from over 480 nominations worldwide by an independent panel of judges. Beirut39 is a project of the Hay Festival in Wales, with the goal of identifying and exposing a new generation of Arab writers to a worldwide audience. The Beirut39 authors were featured in a literary festival in Beirut in April 2010, and the Hay Festival will present these authors in their international literary festivals from Wales to Bogota to Nairobi in the coming years. Bloomsbury has published Beirut39, an anthology of these writers’ work, in Arabic and English. Copies of the anthology are available at the new ALIF Bookstore in Fes’ Ville Nouvelle. Copies are also available for browsing at Café Clock in the Fes medina.

THE BEIRUT39 RESIDENCY SERIES
This residency in the Fes medina is part of a worldwide series of residencies offered to the Beirut39 authors by 24 members of the Alliance of Artists Communities, a US-based organization dedicated to supporting creative residencies for artists of any discipline in the development of new work. Beirut39 authors will be hosted in unique sites around the world, from California and New Mexico to New York to Istanbul, the Italian Riviera, the south of France, and in Fes. The authors’ travel and public engagement activities are supported by grants from the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art and the National Endowment for the Arts. Alliance of Artists Communities member and Fes Medina director Lori Wood serves as the volunteer coordinator for the worldwide residency series. If you are interested in participating in this or future residencies in Fes, please contact Lori at woodlori@sbcglobal.net.


POETRY IN TRANSLATION WORKSHOP
Five Maghrebi and Five European Poets Work Together in Fes
Public Reading in Fes on February 17th

In an extension of Fes’ literary month this February, the Fes medina also hosts five Arab and five European poets for an intensive, week-long workshop animated by Literature Across Frontiers. From February 11-17, the ten poets will work intensively together in the Fes Medina to exchange their views on poetry and to translate each other’s work, often using a bridge language. The workshop will conclude with a public reading at 6 pm February 17th at the new ALIF Bookstore at 2 Rue Ahmed Hiba in the Ville Nouvelle.

On February 18th, the poets will give a reading at the Casablanca Book Fair. This project is sponsored locally by the American Language Center and Arabic Language Institute in Fez (ALIF), with local coordination donated by Fes Medina. More information on this program can be found here. With special thanks to Dar Fes Medina, Dar Ben Safi, Mostafa Bakkali, Mounia Chebl, Malika Chebl, David Amster, Siham Benchekroun and Fatima Bouhraka.


This non-profit project in Fes is being supported by many hands, and hosted by Fes Medina, which is donating the services of its team for coordination and artist services. Special thanks to the following individuals for the generous donation of their houses during this month: To Siham Benchekroun and Nicolas Guillou for the donation of Dar Jad, to Hafid el Amrani for the donation of Dar Jnane, and to David Amster for the donation of Dar Bennis. Thanks to Tom Jenkins for the donation of Dar Ben Safi for occasional artist dinners.

We welcome interest from anyone who might be interested in becoming part of the informal consortium of organizations and individuals making this possible, this month and in the future. We in particular welcome interest from those willing to host an artist dinner for these writers and 2-3 invited guests this February, and those willing to donate the use of their house for future residencies during the quiet season in Fes.

Morocco's House of Poetry Award to Tahar Benjelloun

The 2010 Argana International Poetry Award was granted to poet and writer Tahar Benjelloun by Morocco's House of Poetry.

A statement on Tuesday by the House says the Award's jury, presided over by poet Mohamed Serghini, decided to grant this prestigious prize to Tahar Benjelloun in recognition of his talent in poetry writing and his concern over defending the noble causes of freedom, dignity and tolerance between civilizations.

Benjelloun was awarded this prize not only for his interest in promoting dialogue in the world, but also for his significant contribution to enriching Moroccan poetry, the statement said.

Benjelloun has established "a secret dialogue between novels and poems in a way that makes one feed on the other," said the jury.

The "Homme sous linceul de silence" and "Fœtus" are among Benjelloun's outstanding poetry collections. His writings touch on decisive issues such as the Palestinian cause.

The jury is made up of Larbi Messari, Abdelmajid Benjelloun, Hassan Nejmi, Abderrahmane Tankoul, Mohamed Bennani, Najib Kheddadi and Khalid Belkacem.

The Argana international poetry Award was created in 2002 by the House of Poetry in Morocco Previous winners have included the Chinese poet Bei Dao and Moroccan Mohammed Serghini.

The Argan is a unique tree which grows only in Morocco, specifically in the region south of Morocco set between the High Atlas range and the Massa basin. From afar it looks like an olive tree, but as you come closer it reveals a whole mysterious world dependent on its own.

This uniqueness in shape and fruit is what prompted us to name the award of the House of Poetry in Morocco after it.

Fes Festival of Sufi Culture 2010

Once again, Faouzi Skali has pulled out all the stops to make this year's Festival of Sufi Culture a magnificent event, with interesting topics of discussion and concerts in sublime surroundings such as the Bouanania Medersa and the Batha Museum gardens.


The Festival runs from 17-24 April and has the theme Mystery and Poetry. It will feature presentations, discussions and round tables on subjects such as spirituality and social change, soul therapy, the poetry of Ibn Arabi and the ancient Sufi manuscripts held at the Qaraouiyine Library and in Timbuctu, Mali. Thursday 22 April is Earth Day, when ecology will be highlighted.

Evening concerts will not only feature various Moroccan Sufi brotherhoods, but also Shaykh Habboush from Syria with Jalal Eddeine of France.

Festival Director Faouzi Skali

Here's the full programme:

Saturday 17 April

10h00-noon Introductory Address at the Qaraouiyine Library: What is Sufism? by Faouzi Skali

Address: The Kingdom of Saints by Zakia Zouanat, anthopologist, writer, Sufi specialist (Morocco)

Address: The Sufi manuscripts of the Qaraouiyine by Abdellah el Ouazzani, university lecturer, author and presenter of TV programme for 2M on Islamic news (Morocco)

16h00-18h00: Round table discussion at the Batha Museum: Poetry for Civilisation

Presentation: Bensalem Himmich, Minister of Culture (Morocco)

Edgar Morin, sociologist, philosopher, emeritus director of research at CNRS (France)

Bariza Khiari, socialist senator (France)

Nahal Tajddod, Iranian team member at CNRS and author of several history books (Iran/France)

Jean Claude Carrière, writer, scriptwriter (France)

Mohammed Barrada, former minister of finance and Moroccan ambassador to France, professor of economics (Morocco)

21h00 Concert at Batha Museum: Shaykh Habboush and Jalal Eddeine Weiss Ecstatic Song (Syria, France)

Sunday 18 April

10h00-12h00 Round table at the Batha Museum: Reconsidering development

Assia Bensalah Alaoui, itinerant ambassador for Morocco, professor of public law (Morocco)

Patrick Viveret, advisor in national accountability, philosopher, essayist (France)

Majid Rahnema, writer, lecturer at American University in Paris (France/Iran)

Katherine Marshall, professor at Georgetown University, advisor to the World Bank (US)

Alia Al Dalli, resident representative of the PNUD in Morocco (Iraq)

Mats Karlsson, director of the Maghreb, North African and Middle Eastern desk at the World Bank (Sweden)

16h00-18h00 at the Batha Museum

1st part: Nahal Tajddod and Jean Claude Carrière: La conférence des oiseaux by Farid Eddin Attar (France/Iran)

2nd part: Karima Skalli and Said Chraibi: Homage to Abu al Hassan Ash Shusturi

21h00 Concert at Batha Musseum: The Chishty Sufi Sama Ensemble Shahi Qawwals from Ajmer Dargah Sharif (India)

Monday 19 April

10h00 to noon: Conference at the Batha Museum: Portrait of a Living Saint: Sidi Hamza Al Qadiri Al Boutchichi by Mountasser Hamada, writer and journalist (Morocco) and Faouzi Skali

16h00-18h00 Round table at the Batha Museum: Spirituality and Social Change

Alain Chevillat, director and founder of the Université Terre du Ciel (France)

Yacine Demaison, speaker, educator (France)

Bernard Ginisty, philosopher, former director of Témoignage Chrétien, co-founder of ATTAC (France)

Aoua Ly-tall, sociologist, founding president of African Women's Network (Canada/West Africa)

21h00 Evening of Samaa at the Bouanania Medersa: Hassani songs by the Boutchichiyya Brotherhood of Laâyoune (Morocco)

Tuesday 20 April

10h00-noon Conference at the Batha Museum: Spiritual Chivalry (Futuwwa): A Path for our Times? by Jaafar Kansoussia, intellectual, Sufi specialist (Morocco)

16h00-18h00 Conference at the Batha Museum: The Mystery and Poetry of Ibn Arabi by A. Filali, university professor (Morocco), Cecilia Twinch, speaker in Ibn Arabi Society, Oxford (UK), Ahmed El Kheligh, TV journalist on 2M and Radio Médi 1, Sufi specialist (Morocco) and David Hornsby, member of Ibn Arabi Society, Oxford (UK)

21h00 Evening of Samaa at the Bouanania Medersa:

1st part: Charqawiyya Brotherhood (Morocco)

2nd part: Darqawiyya Brotherhood (Morocco)

Wednesday 21 April

10h00-noon Conference at the Batha Museum: Soul Therapy by Eric Geoffroy, writer on Islam, Sufi specialist (France)

16h00-18h00 Workshop at Batha Museum

1st part: Poetry in a Garden

2nd part: The Savoury Path: nourish the soul, nourish the body by Jeanne Bouguet, gastronome, dietician (France)

21h00 Evening of Samaa at the Bouanania Medersa:

1st part: Alawiyya Brotherhood (Morocco)

2nd part: Wazzania Brotherhood (Morocco)

Thursday 22 April

10h00-noon Conference at the Batha Museum: Earth Day

Ecology: material necessity or a way of living?

Kamal Oudghiri, communication engineer at NASA (Morocco/USA)

Pierre Rabhi, writer, founder of Terre et humanisme (France)

Caroline Chabot, journalist at Actes et Sens (France)

Nicholas Moller, president of the Global Institute for New Energy Technologies GIFNET (Denmark)

Fattouma Benabdenbi, sociologist and founder member of the Association Marocaine pour la Promotion de l'Entrprise Féminine ESPOD (Morocco)

Jean Marie Pelt, renowned ecologist and botanist, president of the European Institute of Ecology since 1972 (France)

16h00-18h00 Conference at the Batha Museum: The Timbuctu Manuscripts

Abdelkader Haïdara, scholar, collector and holder of a private library of manuscripts (Mali)

Abdul Laraw, collector and holder of a private library of manuscripts, specialist in manuscript conservation techniques (Mali)

Souada Maoulainine, speaker, Sufi specialist (Morocco)

Fatima Harrak, director of the Institut des Etudes Africaines (Morocco)

Marie-Odile Delacour, journalist and writer (France)

Jean-René Huleu, journalist (France)

21h00 Concert at the Batha Museum: Haj Mohammed Bennis: Al Munfarija, Samaa of Fez (Morocco)

Friday 23 April

10h00-noon Conference at the Batha Museum: Film and Spirituality: Cinema in the quest for meaning by Nabil Ayouche, film-maker (Morocco)

16h00-18h00: Cultural Café: Art and Spirituality with the participation of Amadou and Mariam (singers from Mali), Setsuko Klossowska de Rola (Japanese painter) and Salamatou Sow (University of Niger)

21h00 Concert at the Batha Museum: Hussain Al Aadhamy: Maqamat du désir divin (Iran/Jordan)

Saturday 24 April

10h00-noon Conference at the Batha Museum: The Quest of Ibn Battouta by Said Taghmaoui, Franco-American actor of Moroccan origin

Love is stronger than Death by Professor H. Joyeux, professor in the medical faculty at Montpellier, founder of the Health, Love and Sexuality conferences, writer (France)

and Fanny Abadi, psychotherapist, founder of the International Centre for Ethical Training and the Association for Humanitarian Ethical Action (France)

16h00-18h00 Round table at the Batha Museum: Islam and the West: traces of light

Mahmoud Hussein, the pseudonym for two authors: Baghgat Elnadi and Adel Rifaat (France/Egypt)

Fatema Mernissi, sociologist and writer (Morocco)

Hassan Abou Ayoub, former government minister, itinerant ambassador (Morocco)

Mustapha Chérif, philosopher, theologian, researcher in human and social sciences (Algeria)

Maati Kabbal, writer and journalist (Morocco)

Abdou Hafidi, politician, professor and presenter of Islam on France 2 (France)

Saad Khiari, writer, involved in many programmes on dialogue between faiths and cultures (France)

21h00 Concert at the Jnan Palace Hotel: Noubas Spirituelles: the great voices of Samaa in Morocco, with Mohammed Briouel

For more information, contact the Association du Festival de Fes de la Culture Soufie at www.festivalculturesoufie.com.

Accommodation in Fez at festival time will be at a premium. If you're planning to attend the festival, check Fez Riads. For homestays with Moroccan families in the medina, see Ziyarates Fes.