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Article: Le poete comme un boxeur: Entretiens, 1958-1989.
- Article from:
- World Literature Today
- Article date:
- June 22, 1995
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1995 University of Oklahoma. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The late Kateb Yacine (1929-94) was and remains a beacon in the field of Maghrebian literature. His first novel, Nedjma (1956), was what the French call "un evenement litteraire," not only because of its publication in Paris at the height of the Algerian revolution but also because of its innovative style and phenomenal creative energy.
Kateb went on to publish other novels and plays, but these works, although brilliant, were often built on out-takes from Nedjma or were addenda in the ongoing obsession with the ambiguous (now earthy, now ethereal) muse by that name. Kateb appeared to have abandoned writing for a decade and then devoted his talents to producing ...