85 research outputs found
Hafid Bouazza, Meriswin
No full textThis is a lexicon entry, offering a detailed discussion of the novel Meriswin (2014) by Dutch-Moroccan author Hafid Bouazza (° 1970)
Transmitting Authenticity:Kader Abdolah and Hafid Bouazza as Cultural Mediators
No full textAround the turn of the millennium, two public intellectuals became central figures in the nationwide debate on Islam in the Netherlands: Kader Abdolah, a refugee from Iran and Morocco-born Hafid Bouazza. Both authors have self-consciously assumed the role of cultural transmitter, using a wide variety of media and genres to do so: opinion pieces, columns, literary work, translations of poetry, prose and religious texts… In this paper, I will compare the element of autobiography in their cultural mediation. Kader Abdolah presents his Oriental background as a guarantee of authenticity. He constantly frames his texts within his life story, which is suggested to be a pars pro toto for the Orient and to have the aim to convince the reader that his work offers a genuine insight into the Muslim world. Hafid Bouazza, on the other hand, uses autobiography as a guarantee of authenticity as yet another mask in his continuous obstruction and deconstruction of Orientalist and Occidentalist prejudices. On one level, the author presents himself as the exotic Other, while on another, he constantly reminds his readers that his exoticness is nothing but a mimicry of their own exoticist prejudices. There is an interesting paradox between Abdolah’s claims of authenticity and Bouazza’s ridiculing of genuineness on the one hand, and the fact that Abdolah’s cultural mediation seems much more geared to a Dutch target culture, while Bouazza’s seems to strive for an exact representation of the source text on the other
Transmitting Authenticity:Kader Abdolah and Hafid Bouazza as Cultural Mediators
No full textAround the turn of the millennium, two public intellectuals became central figures in the nationwide debate on Islam in the Netherlands: Kader Abdolah, a refugee from Iran and Morocco-born Hafid Bouazza. Both authors have self-consciously assumed the role of cultural transmitter, using a wide variety of media and genres to do so: opinion pieces, columns, literary work, translations of poetry, prose and religious texts… In this paper, I will compare the element of autobiography in their cultural mediation. Kader Abdolah presents his Oriental background as a guarantee of authenticity. He constantly frames his texts within his life story, which is suggested to be a pars pro toto for the Orient and to have the aim to convince the reader that his work offers a genuine insight into the Muslim world. Hafid Bouazza, on the other hand, uses autobiography as a guarantee of authenticity as yet another mask in his continuous obstruction and deconstruction of Orientalist and Occidentalist prejudices. On one level, the author presents himself as the exotic Other, while on another, he constantly reminds his readers that his exoticness is nothing but a mimicry of their own exoticist prejudices. There is an interesting paradox between Abdolah’s claims of authenticity and Bouazza’s ridiculing of genuineness on the one hand, and the fact that Abdolah’s cultural mediation seems much more geared to a Dutch target culture, while Bouazza’s seems to strive for an exact representation of the source text on the other
Transmitting Authenticity:Kader Abdolah and Hafid Bouazza as Cultural Mediators
No full textAround the turn of the millennium, two public intellectuals became central figures in the nationwide debate on Islam in the Netherlands: Kader Abdolah, a refugee from Iran and Morocco-born Hafid Bouazza. Both authors have self-consciously assumed the role of cultural transmitter, using a wide variety of media and genres to do so: opinion pieces, columns, literary work, translations of poetry, prose and religious texts… In this paper, I will compare the element of autobiography in their cultural mediation. Kader Abdolah presents his Oriental background as a guarantee of authenticity. He constantly frames his texts within his life story, which is suggested to be a pars pro toto for the Orient and to have the aim to convince the reader that his work offers a genuine insight into the Muslim world. Hafid Bouazza, on the other hand, uses autobiography as a guarantee of authenticity as yet another mask in his continuous obstruction and deconstruction of Orientalist and Occidentalist prejudices. On one level, the author presents himself as the exotic Other, while on another, he constantly reminds his readers that his exoticness is nothing but a mimicry of their own exoticist prejudices. There is an interesting paradox between Abdolah’s claims of authenticity and Bouazza’s ridiculing of genuineness on the one hand, and the fact that Abdolah’s cultural mediation seems much more geared to a Dutch target culture, while Bouazza’s seems to strive for an exact representation of the source text on the other
Transmitting Authenticity:Kader Abdolah and Hafid Bouazza as Cultural Mediators
No full textAround the turn of the millennium, two public intellectuals became central figures in the nationwide debate on Islam in the Netherlands: Kader Abdolah, a refugee from Iran and Morocco-born Hafid Bouazza. Both authors have self-consciously assumed the role of cultural transmitter, using a wide variety of media and genres to do so: opinion pieces, columns, literary work, translations of poetry, prose and religious texts… In this paper, I will compare the element of autobiography in their cultural mediation. Kader Abdolah presents his Oriental background as a guarantee of authenticity. He constantly frames his texts within his life story, which is suggested to be a pars pro toto for the Orient and to have the aim to convince the reader that his work offers a genuine insight into the Muslim world. Hafid Bouazza, on the other hand, uses autobiography as a guarantee of authenticity as yet another mask in his continuous obstruction and deconstruction of Orientalist and Occidentalist prejudices. On one level, the author presents himself as the exotic Other, while on another, he constantly reminds his readers that his exoticness is nothing but a mimicry of their own exoticist prejudices. There is an interesting paradox between Abdolah’s claims of authenticity and Bouazza’s ridiculing of genuineness on the one hand, and the fact that Abdolah’s cultural mediation seems much more geared to a Dutch target culture, while Bouazza’s seems to strive for an exact representation of the source text on the other
Auto-biografismo por omisión: retrato familiar a trazo limpio en El buen padre de Nadia Hafid
No full textInternational audienceThe title of Nadia Hafid’s first graphic novel (Nadia Hafid, El buen padre, Barcelona, Sapristi Editorial, 2020) is undoubtedly a declaration of respect and understanding, a tag ─ in capital letters and without nuance─ that rejects bitterness: THE GOOD FATHER. The story is one of abandonment: the capitulation of a father, a Moroccan immigrant, who returns to his country leaving behind his wife and three children. Some pages document with simplicity the reality of immigration ─between defeat and violence─ and the entrenched situation of those who are unable to take root. But beyond the father figure alone, the author draws a family portrait that deals with the complexities of absences, losses, and personalities shaped by these inheritances and wounds. Nadia Hafid’s work is clearly autobiographical in nature. This article proposes to analyse how the author works with the autobiographical genre, exploring new forms of narration and using an original graphic language. The study explores the way in which graphic sobriety allows the absence of a father whose spectral figure runs through the entire work to be captured.El título de la primera novela gráfica de Nadia Hafid (Nadia Hafid, El buen padre, Barcelona, Sapristi Editorial, 2020) es sin lugar a dudas una declaración de respeto y comprensión, un marbete ─ en mayúsculas y sin matiz─ que rechaza el rencor y la amargura: EL BUEN PADRE. La historia es la de un abandono: la capitulación de un padre, inmigrante marroquí, que regresa a su país dejando atrás a su mujer y sus tres niños. Algunas páginas documentan con sencillez la realidad de la inmigración ─entre derrota y violencia─ y la situación enquistada de quien no alcanza a arraigarse. Pero, más allá de la sola figura paterna, la autora dibuja un retrato familiar que aborda las complejidades de las ausencias, las pérdidas, las personalidades moldeadas por esas herencias y heridas. Nadia Hafid firma una obra con carácter claramente autobiográfico. El presente artículo propone analizar cómo la autora trabaja el género autobiográfico explorando formas nuevas de narración y apostando por un lenguaje gráfico original. El estudio indaga de qué forma la sobriedad gráfica permite plasmar la ausencia de un padre cuya figura espectral recorre toda la obra
“Spel van misleiding”: Over de kunst van Hafid Bouazza
No full textHafid Bouazza is an influential and celebrated author in the Netherlands today.
In the context of contemporary Dutch literature, Bouazza’s Moroccan background still marks a divergence from the born-and-bred Dutch norm. Bouazza both challenges and uses this position to the full. His writing demonstrates that the perceived us-them or self-other
oppositions are questionable ideological constructs. He undermines the concept of a unified culture and the wholeness of the self. He explores and exploits stereotypical beliefs held on both sides of the East/West divide. The result is a magical realist setting that both puzzles and enchants. This contribution offers an overview of Bouazza's main thematic concerns in this literary prose to date
Het nest van de spotvogel. ‘Heimat’ in Spotvogel van Hafid Bouazza
No full textThis article offers a discussion of the concept of Heimat applied to the novel Spotvogel 2009 [Mockingbird] written by the Dutch author Hafid Bouazza. It begins with an account of the German idea of Heimat, which illustrates a large spectre of meanings. It can be associated to homeland, fatherland, to a feeling of home, safety and love; it can mean something hidden and terrifying, as well as a fantasy land, a literary Arcadia. The article also offers a historic presentation of the term. The paper then analyses the different meanings of Heimat and shows how Bouazza deconstructs each one of them, while arguing for a different, less rigid interpretation of Heimat. Bouazza presents in Spotvogel a game with his readers, manipulating their conventions and expectations to show the opposite of what is expected, namely the manual to his literary kingdom.This article offers a discussion of the concept of Heimat applied to the novel Spotvogel 2009 [Mockingbird] written by the Dutch author Hafid Bouazza. It begins with an account of the German idea of Heimat, which illustrates a large spectre of meanings. It can be associated to homeland, fatherland, to a feeling of home, safety and love; it can mean something hidden and terrifying, as well as a fantasy land, a literary Arcadia. The article also offers a historic presentation of the term. The paper then analyses the different meanings of Heimat and shows how Bouazza deconstructs each one of them, while arguing for a different, less rigid interpretation of Heimat. Bouazza presents in Spotvogel a game with his readers, manipulating their conventions and expectations to show the opposite of what is expected, namely the manual to his literary kingdom.This article offers a discussion of the concept of Heimat applied to the novel Spotvogel 2009 [Mockingbird] written by the Dutch author Hafid Bouazza. It begins with an account of the German idea of Heimat, which illustrates a large spectre of meanings. It can be associated to homeland, fatherland, to a feeling of home, safety and love; it can mean something hidden and terrifying, as well as a fantasy land, a literary Arcadia. The article also offers a historic presentation of the term. The paper then analyses the different meanings of Heimat and shows how Bouazza deconstructs each one of them, while arguing for a different, less rigid interpretation of Heimat. Bouazza presents in Spotvogel a game with his readers, manipulating their conventions and expectations to show the opposite of what is expected, namely the manual to his literary kingdom
Auto-biografismo por omisión: retrato familiar a trazo limpio en El buen padre de Nadia Hafid
No full textThe title of Nadia Hafid’s first graphic novel (Nadia Hafid, El buen padre, Barcelona, Sapristi Editorial, 2020) is a declaration of respect and understanding, a tag —in capital letters and without nuance— that rejects bitterness: the good father. The story is one of abandonment: the capitulation of a father, a Moroccan immigrant, who returns to his country leaving behind his wife
and three children. Some pages document with simplicity the reality of immigration —between defeat and violence— and the entrenched situation of those who are unable to take root. But beyond the father figure alone, the author draws a family portrait that deals with the complexities of absences, losses, and personalities shaped by these inheritances and wounds. Nadia Hafid’s work is clearly autobiographical in nature. This article proposes to analyse how the author works with the autobiographical genre, exploring new forms of narration and using an original graphic language. The study explores the way in which graphic sobriety allows the absence of a father whose spectral figure runs through the entire work to be captured.El título de la primera novela gráfica de Nadia Hafid (El buen padre, Barcelona, Sapristi Editorial, 2020) es una declaración de respeto y comprensión, un marbete —en mayúsculas y sin matiz— que rechaza el rencor y la amargura: el buen padre. Se trata de la historia de un abandono: la capitulación de un padre, inmigrante marroquí, que regresa a su país dejando atrás a su mujer y sus tres niños. Algunas páginas documentan con sencillez la realidad de la inmigración —entre derrota y violencia— y la situación enquistada de quien no consigue arraigarse. Pero, más allá de la sola figura paterna, la autora dibuja un retrato familiar que aborda las complejidades de las ausencias, las pérdidas, las personalidades moldeadas por esas herencias y heridas. Nadia Hafid firma una obra con carácter claramente autobiográfico. El presente artículo analiza cómo la autora aborda el género autobiográfico explorando formas nuevas de narración y apostando por un lenguaje gráfico original. El estudio indaga de qué forma la sobriedad gráfica permite plasmar la ausencia de un padre cuya figura espectral recorre toda la obra
Le drame des 'harragas' vu de près et de loin: Youssef Amine Elalamy rencontre Hafid Bouazza
No full textHarragas (those who burn) is the name given to the thousands of illegal immigrants from Africa who, since the 1990's, have attempted to cross the Mediterranean in search of a better life in Europe. Recently these shipwreck stories have led to the creation of a new literary genre, the harraga novel, which distinguishes itself by its innovative style and magic-realistic elements. I make a comparison between two texts in which the theme of the harragas is central. De Oversteek (The Crossing, 2005) is a short story written by Hafid Bouazza, a Dutch author of Moroccan descent. Les Clandestins (The illegal immigrants, 2000) was written by Youssef Amine Elalamy, a French-speaking Moroccan writer who lives and is published in Rabat. This essay examines the way in which both of these authors make use of magical and poetic symbolism to confer a political and/or historical, autobiographical character to their texts
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