The Short Stories of Moroccan Writer Mohamed Choukri: A Talk by Dr. Jonas Elbousty

The University of Oklahoma’s Center for Middle East Studies; Department of Modern Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics; and World Literature Today will sponsor a talk and Q&A with Dr. Jonas Elbousty (Yale University) on the OU Norman campus. The event is free and open to the general public.

“Portraits of the Marginalized in Mohamed Choukri’s Short Fiction”
Monday, Oct. 21, 4:00-5:00 p.m.
Farzaneh Hall 145
729 Elm Ave, Norman, OK 73019
Refreshments Provided

Moroccan writer Mohamed Choukri (1935–2003) was a key figure in twentieth-century Arabic literature and was nominated for the Neustadt International Prize for Literature by Nawal El-Saadawi in 1994. Choukri’s short-story collections, Majnūn al-Ward (Flower Crazy) and al-Khayma (The Tent), depict everyday experiences of Tangier’s citizens from all walks of life, from prostitutes to poets. Although the tales emphasize the devastating effects of social and economic marginalization, Choukri never fails to include moments of joy and community. The stories also include some of Choukri’s strongest political commentary, establishing him as an outspoken defender of artists and dissidents.

Jonas Elbousty is a writer, literary translator, and academic. He holds an MPhil and PhD from Columbia University and teaches in the department of Near Eastern Studies at Yale, where he was the director of undergraduate studies for seven years. He is currently the director of undergraduate studies for the Council on Middle East Studies at Yale’s MacMillan Center for International & Area Studies.