Rachid Boudjedra
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Rachid Boudjedra ( ar, رشيد بوجدرة) (b. 5 September 1941 in Aïn Beïda, Algeria) is an Algerian poet, novelist, playwright and critic. Boudjedra wrote in French from 1965 to 1981, at which point he switched to writing in Arabic, often translating his own works back and forth between the two languages. Boudjedra returned to writing in French in 1992 and has continued to write in that language ever since. Educated in Constantine and in Tunis (at the Collège Sadiki), Boudjedra later fought for the FLN during the Algerian War of Independence. He received his degree in philosophy from the Sorbonne, where he wrote a thesis on
Céline Céline, sometimes spelled Celine, is a French female first name of Latin origin, coming from ''Caelīna'', the feminine form of the Roman cognomen ''Caelīnus'', meaning "heavenly".
. Upon receiving his degree, he returned to Algeria to teach, but was sentenced to two years in prison for his criticisms of the government and was exiled to
Blida Blida ( ar, البليدة; Tamazight: Leblida) is a city in Algeria. It is the capital of Blida Province, and it is located about 45 km south-west of Algiers, the national capital. The name ''Blida'', i.e. ''bulaydah'', is a diminutive ...
. He lived in France from 1969 till 1972, and then in
Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ar, الرِّبَاط, er-Ribât; ber, ⵕⵕⴱⴰⵟ, ṛṛbaṭ) is the capital city of Morocco and the country's seventh largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan populatio ...
,
Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...
until 1975. Boudjedra's fiction is written in a difficult, complex style, reminiscent of
William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer known for his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, based on Lafayette County, Mississippi, where Faulkner spent most o ...
or
Gabriel García Márquez Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez (; 6 March 1927 – 17 April 2014) was a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter, and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo () or Gabito () throughout Latin America. Considered one ...
in its intricacy. ''La Répudiation'' (1969, "The Repudiation") brought him sudden attention, both for the strength with which he challenged traditional Muslim culture in Algeria and for the strong reaction against him. Because a
fatwa A fatwā ( ; ar, فتوى; plural ''fatāwā'' ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (''sharia'') given by a qualified '' Faqih'' (Islamic jurist) in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist ...
was issued which called for his death, he felt he had to live outside of Algeria.A page, in French, that summarizes Boudjedra's life
/ref> He has routinely been called the greatest living North African writer. Boudjedra was awarded the Prix du roman arabe in 2010 for ''Les Figuiers de Barbarie''. André Naffis-Sahely has translated two of his novels into English: ''Les Figuiers de Barbarie'' as The Barbary Figs (Haus, 2012) and ''Les Funérailles'' as The Funerals (Haus, 2015). Rachid Boudjedra has also been involved in writing a number of films. '' Chronique des années de braise'' ('' Chronicle of the Years of Fire''), (dir. by Mohamed Lakhdar-Hamina) which, in 1975 won the
Palme d'or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...
at the
Cannes Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films ...
.


Bibliography

*''Pour ne plus rêver'', poems with drawings by
Mohammed Khadda Mohammed Khadda ( ar, محمد الخدة, link=no; 14 March 1930 – 4 May 1991) was an Algerian painter, sculptor, and writer. Khadda has been considered to be among the founders of contemporary Algerian painting and one of the many repres ...
, ÉNA, 1965; SNED, 1981. *''La Répudiation'', Denoël, 1969; Gallimard Folio, 1981. *''La Vie quotidienne en Algérie'', Hachette, 1971. *''Naissance du cinéma algérien'', Maspero, 1971. *''L'Insolation'', Denoël, 1972; Gallimard Folio, 1987. *''Journal Palestinien'', Hachette, 1972. *''L'Escargot entêté'', Denoël, 1977. *''Topographie idéale pour une agression caractérisée'', Denoël, 1975; Gallimard Folio, 1986. *''Les 1001 Années de la nostalgie'', Denoël, 1979; Gallimard Folio, 1988. *''Le Vainqueur de coupe'', Denoël, 1981; Gallimard Folio, 1989. *''Extinction de voix'', poèmes, SNED, 1981. *''Le Démantèlement'', Denoël, 1982. *''La Macération'', Denoël, 1984. *''Greffe'', Denoël, 1985. *''La Pluie'', Denoël, 1987. *''La Prise de Gibraltar'', Denoël, 1987. *''Le Désordre des choses'', Denoël, 1991. *'' Fis de la haine'', Denoël, 1992; Gallimard Folio, 1994. *''
Timimoun Timimoun ( ar, ﺗﻴﻤﻴﻤﻮن) is a town and commune, and capital of Timimoun District, in Adrar Province, south-central Algeria. According to the 2008 census it has a population of 33,060, up from 28,595 in 1998, with an annual growth rate ...
, Denoël, 1994; Gallimard Folio, 1995. *''Mines de rien'', théâtre, Denoël, 1995. *''Lettres algériennes'', Grasset, 1995; Le Livre de Poche, 1997. *''La Vie à l'endroit'', Grasset, 1997; Le Livre de poche 1999. *''Fascination'', Grasset, 2000; Le Livre de poche 2002. *''Cinq Fragments du désert'', Barzakh, 2001; Éd. de l’Aube, 2002. *''Les Funérailles'', Grasset, 2003. *''Peindre l’Orient'', Éd. Zulma, 2003. *''Hôtel Saint Georges'', Éd. Dar El-Gharb, 2007. *''Les Figuiers de Barbarie'', Grasset, 2010 (Winner of the Prix du Roman Arabe).


Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boudjedra, Rachid 1941 births Living people University of Paris alumni Fatwas People from Oum El Bouaghi Province Algerian novelists Algerian prisoners and detainees Algerian atheists Algerian expatriates in France 21st-century Algerian people