Syrian Writer Nihad Sirees and the role of the writer as Historian

No, this post is not about Syria but it is about continuing the flagging, in a bite size fashion, of my burning question about History with a capital H in Algeria and how it is being told and written, bearing in mind that a succession of regimes in DZ since independence have been narrating by force and coercion a very slanted, if not purely fabricated historical narrative.

Who is safekeeping the real* memory of Algerians and Algeria? How can this History be kept alive, be told and accessed. I believe that DZ writers (novelists, poets, that is 'fiction' not non-fiction) are playing that role.

So, as I was meeting one of Syria's great writers, Nihad Sirees, for the wonderful Arab Lit to talk about literature, I thought I'd ask about the role of the writer as a historian. Here it is.

*I know, what is real... but I think that largely by this term I mean 'factual' and most importantly, I mean investigative and investigated (these two forming the biggest problem of DZ journalism).

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Moufdi Zakaria - The Algerian Ilyad

I am over the moon to have found a PDF version of the original Algerian Ilyad by the great Algerian war poet Moufdi Zakaria. As it is the original version, it is in Arabic HERE (thanks to archive.org, a fantastic e-resource for old books, you should check it out). You can access the book in other formats too HERE . The Algerian Iliad - إلياذة الجزائـر - l' Iliade algé rienne is a 1,000 line poem retracing Algeria's history in great historical details. Throughout, Cheikh Zakaria recounts all the names that have shapped the Algeria's history. He goes through all the regions' history and their greatest most emblematic figures. This poem is so valuable and beautiful. It should be on the curriculum of any Arabic and history cursus in Algeria. Perhaps it is and/or you know this poem? Who is Cheikh Moufdi Zakaria? Well, on 5th of July, three days from now, Algeria will celebrate 50 years of independence. A tremendous poem wa...

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Machaho Tellem Chaho

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