Tahar Ben Jelloun
Tahar Ben Jelloun
Tahar Ben Jellounis a Moroccan writer. The entirety of his work is written in French, although his first language is Arabic. He became known for his 1985 novel L’Enfant de Sable. Today he lives in Paris and continues to write. He has been short-listed for the Nobel Prize in Literature...
NationalityFrench
ProfessionPoet
Date of Birth1 December 1944
CountryFrance
Tahar Ben Jelloun quotes about
relationship mathematics form
Poetry is a form of mathematics, a highly rigorous relationship with words.
speaks-out world speak
We do not have many intellectuals who can speak out for us internationally. We have no writers who are recognized, respected and loved outside the Arab world.
doors idaho people
Emigration is no longer a solution; it's a defeat. People are risking death, drowning every day, but they're knocking on doors that are not open.
sexuality natural linked
I'd thought sexuality was instinctive or natural, but it's profoundly linked to inner security and cultural context.
guilty feels continuing
I don't feel guilty about expressing myself in French; nor do I feel that I am continuing the work of the colonizers.
morocco
In Morocco, it's possible to see the Atlantic and the Mediterranean at the same time.
friendship laughter love-life
I love life in spite of all that mars it. I love friendship, jokes and laughter.
voice trying difficult
Intellectuals try to keep going. But their situation is very difficult. Those who have had the courage to voice their opposition have often paid a very high price.
europe ideas people
New ideas should confront old ideas. We must refer to the example of Europe. People have fought to make Europe what it is today. Freedom is not something that is served up on a plate.
speaks-out engagement world
We must have our say, not through violence, aggression or fear. We must speak out calmly and forcefully. We shall only be able to enter the new world era if we agree to engage in dialogue with the other side.
voice choir individual
An individual voice can be heard in a choir that otherwise sings in unison. This is something that is not excused.
commitment writing sincerity
I write about wounds, the eternal treasons of life. It's not very funny, but it's sincere. My commitment is to sincerity.
expression
I am a Moroccan writer of French expression.
world west victim
We must stop posing as victims of the West and behaving negatively towards the West. We must participate with the West on an equal footing in the reconstruction of the world.