Morocco at the International Book Fair of Quebec

By Hajare EL Khaldi

Rabat – Morocco will participate as a guest of honor, at the 2018 International Book Fair of Quebec (SILQ), held between April 11-15

Moroccan writers, from Morocco and in Canada, and Canadian writers will collectively launch an intellectual and artistic dialogue between the two cultures, announced the Ministry of Culture and Communication.

This intellectual gathering will introduce the Canadian public to almost 2000 titles, by Moroccan writers and creators.

The book fair will provide a total number of 3500 copies of these books, published by various sources, including nine publishing houses, namely, Afrique Orient, Attaouhidi, Bouregreg, Chaaraoui, En Toutes Lettres, La Croisée des Chemins, Les Frères Slaiki, Marsam, and Tarik Editions, in addition to 14 educational, academic, and governmental institutions.

In collaboration with the Council of the Moroccan Community Residing Abroad, the Moroccan Cultural Center in Montreal “Dar Al Maghrib”, the Ministry of Guardianship will also organize a series of cultural activities.

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This event will offer a series of roundtables, creative readings, musical poetic performances, and author presentations of recent publications.

The Moroccan participants include Abdellah Boussouf, historian and general secretary of the Council of the Moroccan Community Residing Abroad; Asma Lamrabet, Islamic feminist and author of Women and Men in the Qur’an; Fatiha Morchid, poet; Kamal Benkirane, editor, poet, and author of J’ai tué l’hiver; Mahi Binebine, painter and author of Le Fou du Roi; Maria Guessous, winner of the Moroccan women’s literature prize in 2015 for Nous N’irons Pas Tous au Paradis; Moha Ennaji, linguist, writer, and political critic; Mohamed Nedali, author of Triste Jeunesse; Rachid Khaless, author of Cantiques du désert; Soumaya Naamane-Guessous, sociologist and women’s rights activist; and Moroccan-born historian Yolande Cohen.

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The program’s sequences dedicated to Moroccan writing and creativity revolve around the themes, “Quebec the Muse, Jazz and Poetry,” “The Position of Literature and Writers in Morocco,” “The Utility of Francophonie for Writers,” “Plural Morocco,” “Women and Islam,” and “Women’s Word, Too.”.

A collection of books exhibited by governmental and academic institutions will be donated to the library of the Moroccan Cultural Center in Montreal.