Nostalgic Rebels: Politics, Aesthetics, and Selfhood in Postcolonial Morocco: (102 Contemporary French and Francophone Cultures)

Mohammed Khaïr-Eddine (1941–1995), Abdelkébir Khatibi (1938–2009), and Abdellatif Laâbi (1942–) are three of the most important francophone Moroccan writers to have emerged in the 1960s. Belonging to the Souffles generation, named after the journal of culture and politics founded in 1966, they played a major role in cultural decolonization and the development of Moroccan literature. This book examines their works and legacy through the dual lenses of revolt and nostalgia. By weaving together comparative close readings of their writings with an analysis of the broader historical and political context in Morocco, the book demonstrates that these writers have used revolt and nostalgia to address state-sponsored violence, grapple with uncertainties about the writing process, and advance or revitalize their political and aesthetic projects. In doing so, this study traces a literary genealogy of political resistance, aesthetic subversion, and nostalgic reconstruction in postcolonial Morocco, while offering a nuanced historical perspective that is closely attuned to the specificities of Moroccan postcoloniality and sensitive to individual trajectories and experiences. The book covers a wide range of literary genres, including poetry, theater, prose fiction, and autobiography, all analyzed through a distinctively Moroccan historical and cultural lens, providing new insights into Moroccan literature and the theories of revolt and nostalgia.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1. Voices and Politics of Revolt Chapter 2. Aesthetic Strategies of Revolt Chapter 3. Forms of Nostalgia in Autobiography Chapter 4. Nostalgia and Exilic Mobility Chapter 5. Nostalgic Rebels and Rebellious Nostalgics Conclusion Bibliography

About the Author :
Khalid Lyamlahy is Assistant Professor in French and Francophone Studies at the University of Chicago.

Review :
“Nostalgic Rebels is a thorough, compelling, and well-researched contribution to scholarly work on Moroccan literature. It takes a trio of well-known authors - Mohamed Khaïr-Eddine, Abdellatif Laâbi, and Abdelkebir Khatibi - and breathes new life into existing scholarship by focusing on their poetic and lesser-studied theatrical works as well as their prose fiction, and examining their legacy under the twin thematic lenses of nostalgia and revolt.” Dr Erin Twohig, Associate Professor, Georgetown University “Tracing a literary geneaology of political resistance and activism centered in post-Independence Morocco, Lyamlahy’s book contributes to efforts within the field to anchor literary scholarship in the nuanced particularity of postcolonial places, and to highlight literary histories that respect multiple languages as Maghrebi, including French.” Dr Jill Jarvis, Associate Professor, Yale University