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
great
There are very few great poets in the world.
best man
The intellectual, the man of thought, doubt and analysis, should give the best of himself.
arab
The world does not look to us in the Arab world out of a healthy desire for knowledge.
There is a gulf between the Arab peoples and Arab intellectuals.
mistake umpires errors
The mistake we make is to attribute to religions the errors and fanaticism of human beings.
bedtime steers sensibility
My sensibility steers me toward writers who are out on their own.
touching mediocrity pits
We have no Arab intellectuals of international stature because we live in a state of generalized mediocrity. We are suspended in the pit without touching the bottom.
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.
sexuality natural linked
I'd thought sexuality was instinctive or natural, but it's profoundly linked to inner security and cultural context.
morocco
In Morocco, it's possible to see the Atlantic and the Mediterranean at the same time.
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.