Spanish Writer Juan Goytisolo Dies at 86 in Marrakech

Rabat – Spanish writer and novelist, Juan Goytisolo, known for his pro-Morocco positions, died on Saturday night at his home in Marrakech at the age of 86, said his literary agent, Carmen Balcells, without revealing the cause of death.

Goytisolo, who had been living in Marrakech for 10 years, was born in Barcelona in 1931. He was from a family known for its passion for literature. He was considered a great supporter of Arab and Moroccan issues.

Goytisolo, who left Spain for France in 1956 and moved to Morocco in 1996, said in one of his previous interviews that he was from Marrakech’s Jemaa el Fna Square, inferring that he loved Morocco.

 The deceased was one of the most important Spanish writers of the second half of the 20th century. He was known for his political publications and experimental novels. He was author of fifteen novels, including the Young Assassins (Juegos de manos) (1954), Marks of Identity (Señas de identidad, 1966), Count Julian (Reivindicación del conde don Julián, 1970), and Juan the Landless (Juan sin Tierra, 1975).

Goytisolo received several international prizes, including the Europalia Prize in 1985, the Octavio Paz Prize in 2002, the Juan Rulfo Prize for Latin American Literature and Caribbean in 2004 and the prestigious Cervantes Award.