Abdellah Taïa

Abdellah Taïa (born 1973) is a Moroccan writer and filmmaker who writes in the French language and has been based in Paris since 1999. He has published nine novels, many of them heavily autobiographical. His books have been translated into Arabic and many European languages. Quotes What matters to me is how we see a woman who is considered by so many people as weak, illiterate, dominated — when in fact she was not dominated. She did not feel weak. Yes, it’s a world of poverty, but every step she takes, every action she does, has a bigger meaning. The world is violent everywhere. I live in Paris — do you think it is calm? Racism, fascism are everywhere. People often assume violence exists only in the Global South, but that is a limited view. Of course that’s false. It is another prejudice, another limited way of thinking. interview with writer & filmmaker Abdellah Taïa I was born into a big, poor Moroccan family. Reading was seen as something bourgeois – something for those who didn’t have money problems; something for those who weren’t hungry. I knew I needed to find a way of escaping poverty, but without rejecting my origins. Being gay means having a critical perspective, and criticizing everything. Like Jean Genet, I wanted my work to have that critical eye, and to take on the struggles of others. I wanted to be a powerful gay voice, a strong and political voice. Arab New Spring: an Interview With Abdellah Taïa The idea was that we Moroccans are good citizens and good Muslims. We aren't permitted to talk about personal things, especially not out in the open. But for me writing is never about what's considered 'right,' it's about everything that's wrong. But when we make bigger decisions we, as a culture, are not permitted to think with this "ana". Instead, we are expected to think about those decisions as decisions to be taken by our entire family or community. To think outside of this is considered subversive. So, to express oneself—or one's true sexuality—is a betrayal to the values of our culture. An interview with Abdellah Taïa External Links Category:Novelists from Morocco Category:LGBT people Category:1973 births Category:Living people