"My material grand-father didn't register my birth on 6 August in Constantine, but in fact he did so twenty days later in Condé-Smendou, a village in the forest, where he was himself a judge or rather the first ghost of the mahkama (tribunal), his anger at being forced to serve justice in the name of the French was so great that he never wore the the enemy's military colours, nor ever agreed to learn the Latin alphabet". Kateb Yacine in Dialogue, no. 35, November 1966. Excerpt reprinted in Kateb Yacine, un théâtre et trois langues, by Amazigh Kateb et Zebeida Chergui (Seuil editions, 2001)
The
6th of August marks the anniversary of the birth of Yacine Kateb. To
celebrate him and remember his work, here are some links and references:
WHO WAS YACINE KATEB :
- Kateb Yacine, poète en trois langues [IN FRENCH] :
Yacine Kateb speaks here about his journey from his early years, born in Chaoui territory, to his family's move to Setif and his first encounter with the Tamazight language, and all the events that took him to writing poetry, his novel Nedjma, and especially theatre.
Kateb Yacine, poète en trois langues from films stéphane gatti on Vimeo.
[RADIO] Benamar Mediene speaks about Kateb Yacine and his work in four episodes on France Culture [IN FRENCH] :
Episode 1: The man and the myth
Episode 2: Kateb the founder
Episode 3: Yacine Kateb's theatre of tragedy
Episode 4: The ambivalent recognition of Yacine Kateb's work
[VIDEO] Mohammed Dib speaks about his friendship with Yacine Kateb [IN FRENCH] :
Mohammed Dib speaks about his friendship with Yacine Kateb, and advocates for our rereading of Yacine Kateb's work in its entirety rather than reducing (and idealising) parts of it. Dib recalls among other anecdotes, that he and Jean Senac (Kateb's close friends) used to call Yacine Kateb 'Le peuple' because Kateb "never pronounced a sentence that didn't contain 'le peuple' ".
KATEB YACINE AND HIS NOVEL NEDJMA
- Yacine Kateb speaks about who was Nedjma [IN FRENCH]
Yacine Kateb recounts his meeting with his cousin Nedjma when he was 16 years-old. He says that he was thunder struck upon meeting her for the first time. He had first laid his eyes on her when she had opened the door to him: his family had sent him away to cousins in Annaba. Nedjma was married and older than him, and he knew this was an impossible love. He says that he associated Algeria to her later, and that he never fell out of love for her, the woman.
- Jean Amrouche talks about the novel Nedjma with Yacine Kateb (June 1956 on RFI radio)
YACINE KATEB AND ALGERIAN WRITERS AND ARTISTS
- [VIDEO] 1966 documentary by Jean Antoine interviews Yacine Kateb in 1966 after he has returned from many travels around the world, and how he feels as a writer and the power struggle still ongoing between Algeria and France in terms of knowledge production. Interestingly, four other Algerian poets/novelists are part of this interview: the very young Rachid Boudjedra (born 1941), Messaoud Boulanouar (1933-2015), Ahmed Azeggagh (1942-2003) and Djouneidi Khelifa (1932-1994). The documentary talks belonging, and also about the situation for Algerian writers now in a newly independent Algeria. This video was brought back to life by the archivists at Archives Numériques du Cinéma Algérien.
- Yacine Kateb on Albert Camus [IN FRENCH]
- Yacine Kateb interviews Al-Anka [IN DERJA/FRENCH] :
- Kateb Yacine, poète en trois langues [IN FRENCH] :
Yacine Kateb speaks here about his journey from his early years, born in Chaoui territory, to his family's move to Setif and his first encounter with the Tamazight language, and all the events that took him to writing poetry, his novel Nedjma, and especially theatre.
Kateb Yacine, poète en trois langues from films stéphane gatti on Vimeo.
[RADIO] Benamar Mediene speaks about Kateb Yacine and his work in four episodes on France Culture [IN FRENCH] :
Episode 1: The man and the myth
Episode 2: Kateb the founder
Episode 3: Yacine Kateb's theatre of tragedy
Episode 4: The ambivalent recognition of Yacine Kateb's work
[VIDEO] Mohammed Dib speaks about his friendship with Yacine Kateb [IN FRENCH] :
Mohammed Dib speaks about his friendship with Yacine Kateb, and advocates for our rereading of Yacine Kateb's work in its entirety rather than reducing (and idealising) parts of it. Dib recalls among other anecdotes, that he and Jean Senac (Kateb's close friends) used to call Yacine Kateb 'Le peuple' because Kateb "never pronounced a sentence that didn't contain 'le peuple' ".
KATEB YACINE AND HIS NOVEL NEDJMA
- Yacine Kateb speaks about who was Nedjma [IN FRENCH]
Yacine Kateb recounts his meeting with his cousin Nedjma when he was 16 years-old. He says that he was thunder struck upon meeting her for the first time. He had first laid his eyes on her when she had opened the door to him: his family had sent him away to cousins in Annaba. Nedjma was married and older than him, and he knew this was an impossible love. He says that he associated Algeria to her later, and that he never fell out of love for her, the woman.
- Jean Amrouche talks about the novel Nedjma with Yacine Kateb (June 1956 on RFI radio)
YACINE KATEB AND ALGERIAN WRITERS AND ARTISTS
- [VIDEO] 1966 documentary by Jean Antoine interviews Yacine Kateb in 1966 after he has returned from many travels around the world, and how he feels as a writer and the power struggle still ongoing between Algeria and France in terms of knowledge production. Interestingly, four other Algerian poets/novelists are part of this interview: the very young Rachid Boudjedra (born 1941), Messaoud Boulanouar (1933-2015), Ahmed Azeggagh (1942-2003) and Djouneidi Khelifa (1932-1994). The documentary talks belonging, and also about the situation for Algerian writers now in a newly independent Algeria. This video was brought back to life by the archivists at Archives Numériques du Cinéma Algérien.
- Yacine Kateb on Albert Camus [IN FRENCH]
- Yacine Kateb interviews Al-Anka [IN DERJA/FRENCH] :
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