Mohamed Choukri: Remembering Great Amazigh Novelist on 17th Anniversary of His Death

[dropcap]B[/dropcap]orn on July 15, 1935, in Beni Chiker town in the Rif mountains of northern Morocco near the city of Nador, Mohamed Choukri, is one of the well known Amazigh writer, most controversial and widely read authors. After a childhood of poverty and petty crime, Choukri managed to learn how to read and write at the age of twenty. 

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Choukri soon began to read, write and enjoy books written by Arab and French authors and published his first short story in 1966, (Violence on the Beach). he often wrote articles, short stories in cafe and bars.

Mohamed Choukri met the expatriate writer and composer Paul Bowles, who recognized his great talent as a writer. Bowles encouraged his writing and translated, with Choukri’s assistance, “For Bread Alone”, in 1972,  which made his international success and translated into more than 10 languages, yet remained banned for years in Morocco for freely breaking the deep-rooted taboos in such a conservative society. 

In addition to ‘Bread alone’ Choukri had published several other novels cush as “Zaman Al Akhtaa (Time of Mistakes, 1992) and Al Souq Al Dakhili (The Inner Market, 1985); two collections of short stories: Majnoun Al Ward (Madman of the Roses, 1979), Al Khaima (The Tent, 1985); a play: Al Saada (Happiness, 1994); a series of his reflections on literature: Ghiwayat Al Shahrour Al Abyad (The Temptation of the White Blackbird, 1998).

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Mohamed Choukri passed away on November 15, 2003, at the age of 68. after was diagnosed with throat cancer. Nevertheless, he continued to smoke and drink and embrace the company of his colleagues. A memorial in his honor was held in Tangier several weeks after his burial, organized by his friends and attended by many admirers of his life and accomplishments.