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Jean Genet in Tangier
English (translation)
82 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1973
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292 people want to read
About the author
Mohamed Choukri
35 books503 followersمحمد شكري
Mohamed Choukri (Arabic: محمد شكري), born on July 15, 1935 and died on November 15, 2003, was a Moroccan author and novelist who is best known for his internationally acclaimed autobiography For Bread Alone (al-Khubz al-Hafi), which was described by the American playwright Tennessee Williams as 'A true document of human desperation, shattering in its impact'.
Choukri was born in 1935, in Ayt Chiker (Ayt Ciker, hence his adopted family name: Choukri / Cikri), a small village in the Rif mountains, in the Nador province. He was raised in a very poor family. He ran away from his tyrannical father and became a homeless child living in the poor neighborhoods of Tangier, surrounded by misery, prostitution, violence and drug abuse. At the age of 20, he decided to learn how to read and write and became later a schoolteacher. His family name "Choukri" is connected to the name Ayt Chiker which is the Berber tribe cluster he belonged to before fleeing hunger to Tangiers. It is most likely that he adopted this name later in Tangiers, because in the rural Rif family names were rarely registered.
In the 1960s, in the cosmopolitan Tangier, he met Paul Bowles, Jean Genet and Tennessee Williams. His first writing was published in 1966 (in Al-adab, monthly review of Beirut, a novel entitled Al-Unf ala al-shati (Violence on the Beach). International success came with the English translation of Al-khoubz Al-Hafi (For Bread Alone, Telegram Books) by Paul Bowles in 1973. The book was be translated to French by Tahar Ben Jelloun in 1980 (éditions Maspéro), published in Arabic in 1982 and censored in Morocco from 1983 to 2000. The book would later be translated into 30 other languages.
His main works are his autobiographic trilogy, beginning with For Bread Alone, followed by Zaman Al-Akhtaâ aw Al-Shouttar (Time of Mistakes or Streetwise, Telegram Books) and finally Faces. He also wrote collections of short stories in the 1960s/1970s (Majnoun Al-Ward, Madman of the roses, 1980; Al-Khaima, The Tent, 1985). Likewise, he is known for his accounts of his encounters with the writers Paul Bowles, Jean Genet and Tennessee Williams (Jean Genet and Tennessee Williams in Tangier, 1992, Jean Genet in Tangier, 1993, Jean Genet, suite and end, 1996, Paul Bowles: Le Reclus de Tanger, 1997). See also 'In Tangier', Telegram Books 2008 for all three in one volume.
Mohamed Choukri died on November 15, 2003 from cancer at the military hospital of Rabat and was buried at the Marshan cemetery in Tangier on November 17, with the audience of the Minister of Culture, numerous government officials, personalities and the spokesman of the King of Morocco. Before he died, Choukri created a foundation, Mohamed Choukri (president, Mohamed Achaâri), owning his copyrights, his manuscripts and personal writings.
Mohamed Choukri (Arabic: محمد شكري), born on July 15, 1935 and died on November 15, 2003, was a Moroccan author and novelist who is best known for his internationally acclaimed autobiography For Bread Alone (al-Khubz al-Hafi), which was described by the American playwright Tennessee Williams as 'A true document of human desperation, shattering in its impact'.
Choukri was born in 1935, in Ayt Chiker (Ayt Ciker, hence his adopted family name: Choukri / Cikri), a small village in the Rif mountains, in the Nador province. He was raised in a very poor family. He ran away from his tyrannical father and became a homeless child living in the poor neighborhoods of Tangier, surrounded by misery, prostitution, violence and drug abuse. At the age of 20, he decided to learn how to read and write and became later a schoolteacher. His family name "Choukri" is connected to the name Ayt Chiker which is the Berber tribe cluster he belonged to before fleeing hunger to Tangiers. It is most likely that he adopted this name later in Tangiers, because in the rural Rif family names were rarely registered.
In the 1960s, in the cosmopolitan Tangier, he met Paul Bowles, Jean Genet and Tennessee Williams. His first writing was published in 1966 (in Al-adab, monthly review of Beirut, a novel entitled Al-Unf ala al-shati (Violence on the Beach). International success came with the English translation of Al-khoubz Al-Hafi (For Bread Alone, Telegram Books) by Paul Bowles in 1973. The book was be translated to French by Tahar Ben Jelloun in 1980 (éditions Maspéro), published in Arabic in 1982 and censored in Morocco from 1983 to 2000. The book would later be translated into 30 other languages.
His main works are his autobiographic trilogy, beginning with For Bread Alone, followed by Zaman Al-Akhtaâ aw Al-Shouttar (Time of Mistakes or Streetwise, Telegram Books) and finally Faces. He also wrote collections of short stories in the 1960s/1970s (Majnoun Al-Ward, Madman of the roses, 1980; Al-Khaima, The Tent, 1985). Likewise, he is known for his accounts of his encounters with the writers Paul Bowles, Jean Genet and Tennessee Williams (Jean Genet and Tennessee Williams in Tangier, 1992, Jean Genet in Tangier, 1993, Jean Genet, suite and end, 1996, Paul Bowles: Le Reclus de Tanger, 1997). See also 'In Tangier', Telegram Books 2008 for all three in one volume.
Mohamed Choukri died on November 15, 2003 from cancer at the military hospital of Rabat and was buried at the Marshan cemetery in Tangier on November 17, with the audience of the Minister of Culture, numerous government officials, personalities and the spokesman of the King of Morocco. Before he died, Choukri created a foundation, Mohamed Choukri (president, Mohamed Achaâri), owning his copyrights, his manuscripts and personal writings.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
September 21, 2022
A slim volume of excerpts from Choukri's journals. Not much context — for example, what was Choukri doing at this time, or what Genet was mostly doing in Tangiers. In other words, a number of brief enigmatic encounters.
The result skims the surface, a bit of an outsider view of Genet the outsider. The most fascinating details were sweet pure gossip, when the returning Moroccan described what life was like in Paris (applying for this young man's passport takes up a lot of space in the text).
Genet continues to be a mystery, an enigma, and a fascination. This book won’t answer many questions, but does give hints at life in Morocco.
The result skims the surface, a bit of an outsider view of Genet the outsider. The most fascinating details were sweet pure gossip, when the returning Moroccan described what life was like in Paris (applying for this young man's passport takes up a lot of space in the text).
Genet continues to be a mystery, an enigma, and a fascination. This book won’t answer many questions, but does give hints at life in Morocco.
October 27, 2021
“- Aunque Sartre y yo seamos amigos, creo que ‘La Cartuja de Parma’ es mejor que ‘El ser y la nada’ [-dice Genet].
- Sí, es un libro complicado -le dije-. En dos años sólo he podido leer ciento treinta páginas. A veces una sola frase me obliga a leer otros libros para poder continuar”.
‘Jean Genet en Tánger’ es exactamente eso: Chukri se cruza un día en un café de la ciudad marroquí y lo aborda y a partir de ahí dialogan durante días sobre literatura y otras cosas. Genet era un mito del malditismo y Chukri tiene la habilidad para identificarse con él, contagiarse de su halo y a la vez mantener la distancia con un sutil sentido del humor. Si hay algo fascinante es la capacidad del escritor marroquí para hacer de puente con la literatura occidental, como un traductor o un mediador o un guía listo de la kasbah de Tánger.
“- A mí también me costó la primera vez [-dice Genet]. Un día cogí el libro y fui a ver a Sartre. ‘Este libro es difícil de entender’, le dije. Entonces, él me propuso un orden de lectura diferente. ‘Creo que ahora no te dará más problenas’, me contestó. Tenía razón. Logré entender casi todo gracias a esa nueva distribución de los capítulos”.
- Sí, es un libro complicado -le dije-. En dos años sólo he podido leer ciento treinta páginas. A veces una sola frase me obliga a leer otros libros para poder continuar”.
‘Jean Genet en Tánger’ es exactamente eso: Chukri se cruza un día en un café de la ciudad marroquí y lo aborda y a partir de ahí dialogan durante días sobre literatura y otras cosas. Genet era un mito del malditismo y Chukri tiene la habilidad para identificarse con él, contagiarse de su halo y a la vez mantener la distancia con un sutil sentido del humor. Si hay algo fascinante es la capacidad del escritor marroquí para hacer de puente con la literatura occidental, como un traductor o un mediador o un guía listo de la kasbah de Tánger.
“- A mí también me costó la primera vez [-dice Genet]. Un día cogí el libro y fui a ver a Sartre. ‘Este libro es difícil de entender’, le dije. Entonces, él me propuso un orden de lectura diferente. ‘Creo que ahora no te dará más problenas’, me contestó. Tenía razón. Logré entender casi todo gracias a esa nueva distribución de los capítulos”.
May 2, 2022
Para un fanático de Genet como yo, un libro como este -y en una edición tan cuidada- no puede llevarse menos de 4 estrellas. Interesantes reflexiones y agudos apuntes sobre la literatura, los escritores y -algo menos- disertaciones sobre la política.
February 8, 2014
I read this in the Spanish edition by the excellent small press Cabaret Voltaire, which has translated many Moroccan authors. Since all my Goodreads friends and blog readers speak English as a first or second language, I'll review it in English and point my readers to the English edition titled Jean Genet in Tangier, translated by Paul Bowles.
Chukri was a Moroccan author who befriended many of the famous expats in Tangier's glory days as the International Zone. Here we meet Jean Genet, author of Diary Of A Thief and many other works. Chukri and Genet hit it off because they both came from the streets and wrote candid memoirs about it.
The scenes from famous meeting places such as Cafe Central make for fun reading for those who have been to Tangier, and we learn some interesting background about both authors and their literary and social views.
Sadly, this book is a bit thin on the ground. It's only 80 pages and many of the conversations are somewhat superficial. It's worth the money for glimpses of two famous authors, and for its vignettes of Tangier 50 years ago, but remains of interests to specialists only.
Chukri was a Moroccan author who befriended many of the famous expats in Tangier's glory days as the International Zone. Here we meet Jean Genet, author of Diary Of A Thief and many other works. Chukri and Genet hit it off because they both came from the streets and wrote candid memoirs about it.
The scenes from famous meeting places such as Cafe Central make for fun reading for those who have been to Tangier, and we learn some interesting background about both authors and their literary and social views.
Sadly, this book is a bit thin on the ground. It's only 80 pages and many of the conversations are somewhat superficial. It's worth the money for glimpses of two famous authors, and for its vignettes of Tangier 50 years ago, but remains of interests to specialists only.
February 11, 2019
Though published as a book this is about the length of a feature magazine article. I read it in about 90 minutes but I enjoyed those 90 minutes. This is more a book for those already familiar with Genet's work, fame, and infamy than for newcomers to the writer's work and notoriety. Genet's radical politics and sexual proclivities take a decided backseat here to his gossipy views on other writers, his generosity to the less fortunate, his disdain for police and bureaucrats, his tendency toward depression, fueled by alcohol and drug use, and the fact that he had essentially stopped writing at the time of this encounter. A fun little read for aficionados and the curious. Spoiler alert (not really): he is a big admirer of Stendhal (who isn't?) and has little use for Camus.
January 15, 2021
Simple article, have for collector purposes..
March 2, 2024
un librillo muy curioso para acercarse a la figura de Genet y su vida en Marruecos
August 6, 2016
Mohamed Chukri. Días tranquilos con Jean Genet
Mohamed Chukri conoce a Jean Genet en Tánger en 1968, un 18 de noviembre, en el Café Central. Se encontrarán algún día más aquel año, de café en café, pero será sobre todo al año siguiente cuando su relación será algo más extensa, de nuevo, de café en café. El escritor marroquí reunirá esos encuentros en un libro que se publicará en Estados Unidos, en traducción de Paul Bowles. A Genet no le hará mucha gracia la idea (fundamentalmente que nadie le haya pedido permiso y que saliera alguna fotografía), y así se lo hará saber cuando se encuentren de nuevo en 1974. Nada grave. Su relación proseguirá, así como el libro, de café en café, porque sí, esta es una historia de cafés, de calles, de encuentros, de conversaciones, en un Tánger que ya recordaba sus viejos y buenos tiempos. Pero para la literatura, se detendrá en aquel año. Chukri lo explica en el epílogo: dejó de escribir cuando sintió que el otro ya no estaba de acuerdo. Todo eso, reunido, es Jean Genet en Tánger, libro con el que Cabaret Voltaire prosigue en la edición de la obra de este escritor imprescindible, siempre en la magnífica traducción de Rajae Boumediane.
Volvamos atrás. Mohamed Chukri conoce a Jean Genet en 1968. Está sentado con un amigo en una terraza. Genet está frente a ellos, con su fama de difícil, intratable a veces. Le da igual. Se acerca y se presenta como un escritor árabe (un escritor que solo ha publicado dos relatos). Quedan para el día siguiente. Chukri relata estos encuentros como páginas arrancadas a un diario. El escritor francés (ex ladrón), ya ha escrito todo lo que tenía que escribir. No quedándole nada, en su opinión, por contar, escribirá obras teatrales o textos políticos. Piensa que la literatura debe reinventarse, que está agotada. Entre tés y otras bebidas, entre ir de acá para allá por la ciudad tangerina, hablan de escritores que leen o leyeron: de Proust, por ejemplo, que salvó a Genet de la cárcel, de Camus (poco apreciado por él), de Stendhal, o de su admirado Mallarmé, del que le lee un poema, Brisa marina (“sobre el papel vacío que la blancura defiende”). A través de sus conversaciones, vamos conociendo a la persona: generoso con sus amigos, pero también con los pobres, los que no tienen nada, implacable con el poder, con el que no quiere tener contacto, comprometido con las luchas, orgulloso de aquel que roba al que más tiene. Chukri, con su escritura siempre tan próxima de la oralidad, poco amiga de arabescos y descripciones superfluas, cuenta, y es a través de esa escritura despojada, que juega a ser una mera transcripción anotada, punteada de breves impresiones, se nos muestra más precisa que cualquier interminable ensayo. La vida fluye. Está ahí, alrededor de ellos, en ellos. Solo hay que seguirla con la mirada, saber escuchar, dejarse llevar por los días, que se suceden de un lado a otro, cuestión de gestos y palabras, ligeros, breves.
Jean Genet en Tánger es también, de este modo, un fragmento de la vida de Chukri, a través del que se escapan sus lecturas, sus años de formación como escritor, tras haberlo dejado ahí, en El pan a secas, marchándose para aprender a leer. Para él, vida y escritura, encuentros y desencuentros, no dejan de formar parte de su propia historia, de esa vida que hay que contar, poco a poco, libro a libro, palabra a palabra. Fernando Arrabal decía que uno escribe porque no vive. Mohamed Chukri escribe porque vive.
Escrito para Détour.
Mohamed Chukri conoce a Jean Genet en Tánger en 1968, un 18 de noviembre, en el Café Central. Se encontrarán algún día más aquel año, de café en café, pero será sobre todo al año siguiente cuando su relación será algo más extensa, de nuevo, de café en café. El escritor marroquí reunirá esos encuentros en un libro que se publicará en Estados Unidos, en traducción de Paul Bowles. A Genet no le hará mucha gracia la idea (fundamentalmente que nadie le haya pedido permiso y que saliera alguna fotografía), y así se lo hará saber cuando se encuentren de nuevo en 1974. Nada grave. Su relación proseguirá, así como el libro, de café en café, porque sí, esta es una historia de cafés, de calles, de encuentros, de conversaciones, en un Tánger que ya recordaba sus viejos y buenos tiempos. Pero para la literatura, se detendrá en aquel año. Chukri lo explica en el epílogo: dejó de escribir cuando sintió que el otro ya no estaba de acuerdo. Todo eso, reunido, es Jean Genet en Tánger, libro con el que Cabaret Voltaire prosigue en la edición de la obra de este escritor imprescindible, siempre en la magnífica traducción de Rajae Boumediane.
Volvamos atrás. Mohamed Chukri conoce a Jean Genet en 1968. Está sentado con un amigo en una terraza. Genet está frente a ellos, con su fama de difícil, intratable a veces. Le da igual. Se acerca y se presenta como un escritor árabe (un escritor que solo ha publicado dos relatos). Quedan para el día siguiente. Chukri relata estos encuentros como páginas arrancadas a un diario. El escritor francés (ex ladrón), ya ha escrito todo lo que tenía que escribir. No quedándole nada, en su opinión, por contar, escribirá obras teatrales o textos políticos. Piensa que la literatura debe reinventarse, que está agotada. Entre tés y otras bebidas, entre ir de acá para allá por la ciudad tangerina, hablan de escritores que leen o leyeron: de Proust, por ejemplo, que salvó a Genet de la cárcel, de Camus (poco apreciado por él), de Stendhal, o de su admirado Mallarmé, del que le lee un poema, Brisa marina (“sobre el papel vacío que la blancura defiende”). A través de sus conversaciones, vamos conociendo a la persona: generoso con sus amigos, pero también con los pobres, los que no tienen nada, implacable con el poder, con el que no quiere tener contacto, comprometido con las luchas, orgulloso de aquel que roba al que más tiene. Chukri, con su escritura siempre tan próxima de la oralidad, poco amiga de arabescos y descripciones superfluas, cuenta, y es a través de esa escritura despojada, que juega a ser una mera transcripción anotada, punteada de breves impresiones, se nos muestra más precisa que cualquier interminable ensayo. La vida fluye. Está ahí, alrededor de ellos, en ellos. Solo hay que seguirla con la mirada, saber escuchar, dejarse llevar por los días, que se suceden de un lado a otro, cuestión de gestos y palabras, ligeros, breves.
Jean Genet en Tánger es también, de este modo, un fragmento de la vida de Chukri, a través del que se escapan sus lecturas, sus años de formación como escritor, tras haberlo dejado ahí, en El pan a secas, marchándose para aprender a leer. Para él, vida y escritura, encuentros y desencuentros, no dejan de formar parte de su propia historia, de esa vida que hay que contar, poco a poco, libro a libro, palabra a palabra. Fernando Arrabal decía que uno escribe porque no vive. Mohamed Chukri escribe porque vive.
Escrito para Détour.
January 10, 2021
A magazine article of a book, a short series of short anecdotes/diary entries, mostly of meeting up with Jean Genet in Tangier at Cafe Paris, Cafe Central, Cafe el Menara, etc.. Choukri has a disarming and frank style that is on the whole refreshing, though in a more sustained work would probably become tiresome. He's a bit star struck by Genet at first, but then becomes a kind of bff to him, with a preponderance of the narrative action centering around the process of getting a passport for Genet's Moroccan (boy)friend. One really doesn't get much of a sense of either author, though one sees snippets of contrarianism, spite, wisdom and pettiness in Genet, and sadness and poetry in Choukri. I was hoping for a bit more in the way of exploration of Tangier, as it was the home of the author of one of my favorite books (The Sheltering Sky/Paul Bowles) along with a host of other storied literati. Again, a few snippets of the place, but left me wanting more.
And speaking of snippets, here's (a good) one, quasi absurdist, semi-entertaining, definitely coloring the narrative of that day's diary entry: "...A crippled boy came to our table, and Genet handed him a thousand-franc note, Abdeslam watching every move. Then a dwarf named Mokhtar, who had been standing outside, burst in and rushed to the table with his hand out. Genet had nothing to give him, so he told him to share with his friend the cripple. This brought on a fight between the dwarf and the cripple, right in the middle of the cafe..." An atypically lurid snippet, and not for the PC of heart, but demonstrating some of the interesting character of this narrative of brevity.
And speaking of snippets, here's (a good) one, quasi absurdist, semi-entertaining, definitely coloring the narrative of that day's diary entry: "...A crippled boy came to our table, and Genet handed him a thousand-franc note, Abdeslam watching every move. Then a dwarf named Mokhtar, who had been standing outside, burst in and rushed to the table with his hand out. Genet had nothing to give him, so he told him to share with his friend the cripple. This brought on a fight between the dwarf and the cripple, right in the middle of the cafe..." An atypically lurid snippet, and not for the PC of heart, but demonstrating some of the interesting character of this narrative of brevity.
June 22, 2020
Me encantó a pesar de su sencillez y brevedad. Que fácil define a Genet con unas cuantas pinceladas.
October 10, 2022
short and straight forward read. it was really surprising to hear genet's opinions on islam/koran/moroccan culture. really inspired me to delve deeper into genet, i've slowly been collecting all his works i can.
"Personally, I believe the Koran is more trustworthy than Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, he said"
"All i know is that the world exists. But only god himself knows whether He exists."
"I think the Moslems have gone beyond the ethic and traditions of the Koran. But in spite of that, the Koran is still a great book, one that's read by Moslems and non-Moslems alike."
"Personally, I believe the Koran is more trustworthy than Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, he said"
"All i know is that the world exists. But only god himself knows whether He exists."
"I think the Moslems have gone beyond the ethic and traditions of the Koran. But in spite of that, the Koran is still a great book, one that's read by Moslems and non-Moslems alike."
January 25, 2018
Jean Genet is a colorful character, criminal, thief and an esteemed writer by jean Paul Sartre, William Burroughs, Paul Bowles among others. Writer, Mohamed Choukri, is a Morrocan who meets with J. Genet over a period of weeks in various cafes in Tangier. Their conversations illuminate the personality of J. Genet, his values and ideas.
March 1, 2025
Leí las reseñas de este libro antes de leérmelo y la verdad es que tenían razón. Si no pretendes especializarte sobre la vida de Jean Genet, si no estas haciendo algún tipo de estudio o investigación sobre este personaje, este libro no tiene mucho interés. Así me he quedado, eso sí, se lee en una sentada.
February 6, 2024
only choukri book they had at the library. probably would help to know anything about genet, or the milieu of tangiers post ‘68, but I don’t know anything about either, and so this falls quite flat for me. good writing though!
February 8, 2021
Una joya.
August 2, 2021
Takes place after the Chicago police riots of 1968. That Genet seemed like a strange duck indeed.
He hated cops.
He hated cops.
Read
February 18, 2015I happened upon this little book recently and read it in two sittings before bed.
Either based on or made up of journal entries of Choukri's after encountering Genet in Tangier a few times (1968-1970). The straight forward, candid but poetic descriptions of Genet and their encounters were enjoyable. (I did appreciate that towards the end, Choukri gets annoyed with Genet, someone he starts off star-struck and nervous around).
I think if there were more books like this - or if I knew of or read more books like this - I would not like them. But the novelty and writing won me over.
3.7
Either based on or made up of journal entries of Choukri's after encountering Genet in Tangier a few times (1968-1970). The straight forward, candid but poetic descriptions of Genet and their encounters were enjoyable. (I did appreciate that towards the end, Choukri gets annoyed with Genet, someone he starts off star-struck and nervous around).
I think if there were more books like this - or if I knew of or read more books like this - I would not like them. But the novelty and writing won me over.
3.7
August 12, 2024
Simply had to reread another one of my favorites.
“You seem sad today, I said to him.
I’m always sad, and I always know why, he replied.
I accepted his sadness and didn’t press him further. I have my own sadness” (37).
“You seem sad today, I said to him.
I’m always sad, and I always know why, he replied.
I accepted his sadness and didn’t press him further. I have my own sadness” (37).
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews