Kateb Yacine (1929–1989)
Auteur de Nedjma
A propos de l'auteur
The son of an Algerian Islamic lawyer of Berber origins, Kateb Yacine is one of the most enigmatic Maghrebian writers in the French language. Better known for his ambivalent and often contradictory public roles---a Communist ideologue, yet opponent of orthodox communism and a Berber ethnic afficher plus nationalist---his fame as an author rests on his mythical-autobiographical novel, Nedjima (1955). This epic work was begun in 1946 and completed in 1955 after the outbreak of the Algerian War of Independence. Nedjima means "star" in Arabic; but the star is also the symbol of nationhood in many national banners, and the word also alludes to the name of the first Algerian national party, Etoile Nord-Africaine (the North African Star). In this novel, the author's subtle interweaving of situations and relationships transforms the story of a woman into a parable touching upon many of the struggles for national, racial, ethnic, and personal identity that have dominated postcolonial Algerian consciousness. Although Yacine began his writing career as a poet and went on to distinguish himself primarily as a playwright, scholarly interest in his writings has continued to focus on the novel Nedjima. Because of the reappearance of the same characters, settings, and situations from Nedjima in his plays, critics tend to see his works as constituting an epic cycle. Two years before his death in 1989, Yacine was awarded the Grand Prix National des Lettres. English translations of the works of this controversial author, who contributed greatly to the establishment of Francophonic African literature in the Maghreb, are not yet widely available. (Bowker Author Biography) afficher moins
Crédit image: By Chris93 - travail personnel (own work). Photo prise à Doualas lors d'une exposition publique, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4555330
Œuvres de Kateb Yacine
Oeuvres associées
Étiqueté
Partage des connaissances
- Date de naissance
- 1929-08-06
- Date de décès
- 1989-10-28
- Lieu de sépulture
- Al Alia Cemetery, Algiers, Algeria
- Sexe
- male
- Nationalité
- Algeria
- Lieu de naissance
- Zighoud Youcef, Constantine, Algeria
- Lieu du décès
- Grenoble, France
- Lieux de résidence
- Constantine, Algeria (birth)
Grenoble, France (death) - Études
- Lycée Albertini, Sétif, Algeria
Lycée de Bône, Bône, Algeria - Professions
- poet
novelist
playwright
journalist - Relations
- Kateb, Amazigh (son)
Membres
Critiques
Prix et récompenses
Vous aimerez peut-être aussi
Auteurs associés
Statistiques
- Œuvres
- 14
- Aussi par
- 1
- Membres
- 142
- Popularité
- #144,865
- Évaluation
- 3.1
- Critiques
- 2
- ISBN
- 28
- Langues
- 7
But slowly, as the farce and the comedy progress, a darker side of the play start emerging and some of the initially farcical moments start to get almost sinister undertones. Puff of Smoke stops being the comedic relief and actually tries actively to swindle the Sultan - selling him the "intelligence powder" which gives its name to the play. The underlying accusations and opinions are obvious from the name - for the reader anyway.
The play ends in death - unexpected and almost coming from nowhere - especially if you initially dismiss the darkness. You cannot hide from fate - no matter what you do - that is the underlying story of the play. Or one of them anyway
I will admit that this play confused me a bit and I had to read some of the analysis of it - while the main premise was clear, it was a bit too random and a bit to farcical so I was sure I was missing something. I was not - not in the main topics anyway. Maybe the play was too short, maybe I am just not used to the style - the chorus being an active participant that everyone else sees and interacts with is interesting. And I am sure I missed some of the symbolism.
An interesting play - even if it is not my style exactly, it still works on some level. Its middle part made me think of a story from the western cannon - Andersen's "The Emperor's New Clothes" but it turned in a different direction at the end (a much darker one at that).… (plus d'informations)