Category: personal

We had a great turnout at Dar America on Thursday. I find the experience of meeting my readers very pleasurable, but I have to say it feels even more special to be able to read from Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits here in Casablanca. The questions revolved around the theme of immigration: “Why did you choose this? Is it because it’s in fashion?” I had to smile at this, and explain that devoting three years of my life to something that may be ‘à la mode’ would not be the best use of my time. I didn’t set out to write about immigration; I set out to write about one young man’s desire to prove to his family that he could be a success if only the right opportunity came along. And the story of Murad turned into something bigger and more complex, until I ended up with this book. The other questions were about individual stories, the process of writing Hope, the title of the book, what I am working on now, and so on. I had a wonderful, wonderful time.

I signed copies of the French edition of my book at the Casablanca Book Fair on Friday. The Moroccan staff at the Librairie Nationale booth was so welcoming, offering me mint tea and assorted pastries, and keeping me company while readers drifted in and out. In the photo above, I am meeting two bloggers, who had come by for a quick interview.

This afternoon I’ll be reading from Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits at the Casablanca Book Fair. Here are the details:

4:00 PM
Reading & Discussion (in French)
Librairie Nationale Booth
Casablanca Book Fair
Foire des Expositions
Casablanca, Morocco

This event will be in French.

Later today, I’ll be giving a reading from Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits, to be followed by a discussion. Here are the details:

Reading and Discussion
Thursday, February 15, 2007 @ 5:00 PM
Dar America
10, Place Bel Air
Casablanca

This event will be in English (Friday’s will be in French). See you there.

A brief opinion piece I wrote about freedom of speech in Morocco appeared in Saturday’s New York Times. Its starting point is the lawsuit that was brought against the magazine Nichane (which I’ve mentioned previously on this blog) and the denouement of the case involving Aboubakr Jamai and his magazine Le Journal Hebdo (also mentioned briefly here). Here is an excerpt:

In the United States, Morocco is often seen as a liberal country and a bulwark against Islamic extremism. Certainly, the reforms that have taken place over the last few years, particularly in terms of women’s rights, are steps in the right direction.

But while the court cases against independent news magazines like Nichane, Le Journal Hebdomadaire and several others are within the bounds of Moroccan law, they appear to single out the independent press, to the exclusion of more partisan publications. These cases highlight a particularly troubling pattern, in which the regime represses the progressive voices it claims to champion

You can read the full text of the op-ed at the NYT site.

Apologies for the lack of posts this past week. I’ve been struggling with a sore throat and an injured back. The latter is not such a bad thing; I tend to work with my laptop on my knees, and if I hurt my back it means I’m probably getting at least some work done. See? The glass is half full.