In Tangier

“As I read Choukri’s notes, I saw and heard Jean Genet as clearly as if I had been watching a film of him. To achieve such precision simply by reporting what happened and what was said, one must have a rare clarity of vision.”—From William Burroughs’ introduction to Jean Genet in Tangier
Tangier, “the most extraordinary and mysterious city in the world,” according to Mohamed Choukri, was a haven for many Western writers in the early twentieth century. Paul Bowles, Jean Genet, and Tennessee Williams all spent time there, and all were befriended by Choukri.
Collected here together for the first time in English are Choukri’s delightful recollections of these encounters, offering a truly fresh insight into the lives of these cult figures.
The sights and sounds of 1970s Tangier are brought vividly alive, as are the larger-than-life characters of these extraordinary men, through ordinary everyday events.
‘What Yacoubi would really like is a complete harem,’ I said.
We laughed.
‘One handsome boy is enough for me,’ said Tennessee. ‘A boy who just happens by.’
‘So you don’t want a harem?’ I said.
‘No. Harems are always very tiring. They’re no fun.’
Mohamed Choukri (1935–2003) is one of North Africa’s most controversial and widely read authors. After a childhood of poverty and petty crime, Choukri learned to read and write at the age of twenty. He then became a teacher and writer, finally being awarded the chair of Arabic literature at Ibn Batuta College in Tangier. His works include For Bread Alone and Streetwise (both available from Telegram).