Mohamed Choukri’s Brutal Honesty

The Moroccan writer Mohamed Choukri grew up poor and illiterate on the streets of Tangier in the waning years of colonialism. He told the story of his childhood in his autobiographical novel For Bread Alone – El Khubz El Hafi in Arabic, Le Pain Nu in French. Choukri went on to write much more, chronicling life in post-independence Morocco during the “years of lead,” and the marginalized underclass of Tangier: its barflies, prostitutes, petty criminals, day-to-day survivors. We spoke to scholar and translator Jonas El Busty about the unique subversiveness of Choukri’s work, and why it still resonates so strongly today. We also talked about the reception of Choukri’s work, and the power dynamics embedded in its translation.

النشرة الأسبوعية مساءً كل يوم سبت من اختيار المحررين

نشرة أسبوعية مسائية من بودكاست فلسطين تصلُك إلى بريدك الإلكتروني، تُقدِّم أمتع وأفضل الحلقات من أكثر من ٣٠٠ برنامج بودكاست عربي نختارها لك لتستمع وتستمتع وتتعلّم.

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