ASSIA DJEBAR (1936- ), pseudonym of FATIMA - ZOHRA IMALAYEN
(Djebar, 'the uncompromising' is one of the 99 Prophet's names. Assia, in dialectal language means 'the one who sympathizes').
Assia Djebar was born in Cherchell, near Algiers. She attended the primary school where her father taught French, and completed secondary school studies in Algiers. After her studies at the Lycée Fénelon in Paris, she became the first Algerian woman to be accepted at the École Normale Supérieure. She joined in the Algerian student strike of 1956, in the early years of the Algerian independence struggle.
In 1958 Djebar married Ahmed Ould-Rouïs, a member of the Resistance. The marriage ended in divorce, and in 1980 she married the poet Malek Alloula.
After Algeria gained independence, Djebar taught North African history at the Faculty of Letters and worked with the Algerian press and radio. She also worked as an assistant director on a number of film productions. Her first film, La Nouba des femmes du Mont Chenoua (1979), won the International Critics Prize at the 1979 Film Festival in Venice.
When Djebar returned to the University of Algiers, and began teaching theatre and film, Djebar then taught history there for many years. She won the Neustadt Prize for Contributions to World Literature in 1996. In 1997 she received the Yourcenar Prize and in 2000 the prestigious Friedenspreis des Deutschen Buchhandels. Djebar is a member of the Académie Royale de Langue Francaise de Belgique. In 2005 she was the first Algerian woman to become a member of the French Academy. Her major novels have not been translated into Arabic in her native Algeria, but English translations are read by a wide audience in Europe and in North America. Djebar is frequently mentioned as a candidate for the Nobel Prize in literature.
Website:
http://www.assiadjebar.net/
Book Reviews:
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Bibliography:
La soif Paris, Julliard, roman 1957
Les impatients Paris, Julliard, roman 1958
Les enfants du nouveau monde Paris, Julliard, roman 1962
Les alouettes naïves Paris, Julliard, roman 1967
Femmes d'Alger dans leur appartement, Paris, des femmes, nouvelles 1980
L'amour, la fantasia Paris, J.C. Lattès, 1985, Albin Michel, 1995, roman 1985
Ombre sultane Paris, J.C. Lattès, roman 1987
Loin de Médine Paris, Albin Michel, roman 1991
Chronique d'un été Algérien Paris, Plume, préface à un essai photographique 1993
Vaste est la prison Paris, Albin Michel, roman 1994
Le blanc de l'Algérie Paris, Albin Michel, récit 1996
Oran, langue morte Arles, Actes Sud, nouvelles 1997
Les nuits de Strasbourg Arles, Actes Sud, roman 1997
Ces voix qui m'assiègent: En marge de ma francophonie Paris, Albin Michel et Montréal, Les presses de l'université de Montréal, essai 1999
La beauté Joseph, Arles, Actes Sud, récit 1999
Figlie di Ismaele nel Vento e nella Tempesta, Giunti ed. Firenze, dramma musicale, (inédit en français) 2000
Aïcha et les filles d'Ismaël, drame musical en 3 actes, 2000 (inédit) 2000
La femme sans sépulture, Paris, Albin Michel, roman 2002
Femmes d'Alger dans leur appartement, édition augmentée, Paris, Albin Michel, nouvelles 2002
La disparition de la langue française, Paris, Albin Michel, roman 2003
Translations These books have been translated into German, English, Dutch, Danish, Spanish, Catalan, Arabic, Italian, Russian, Turkish, Slovakian, Swedish, Slovenian, Serb, Polish, Portuguese, Greek, Norwegian, Chinese, and Romanian. Soon: Hebrew.
Samples in English:
The Tongue's Blood Doesn't Run Dry (novel) New York: Seven Stories Press, 2006
Children of the New World (novel) New York: Feminist Press, 2005
Algerian White (Memories) New York: Seven Stories, May 2000
So Vast the Prison (Novel) New York: Seven Stories, 1999
Women of Algiers in their Apartment (short Stories) Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 1992 [1999]
Strasbourg Nights (Novel) (forthcoming)
Fantasia, an Algerian Cavalcade London: Quartet, 1989 New York: Heinemann, 1992
A Sister to Scheherazade London: Quartet, 1988 New York: Heinemann, 1993
Far from Medina London: Quartet, 1983
The Mischief New York: Simon & Schuster, 1958 (Pocketbook: Nadia, 1960)
Films, Plays & Poetry
2000 Figlie di Ismaele nel Vento e nella Tempesta (Musica Drama) Giunti ed. Firenze
1982 "La zerda ou les chants de l'oubli" (feature length film: 57 min)
1979 "La nouba des femmes du Mont Chenoua" (feature length film: 1hr. 57 min)
Arabic with English subtitles. Distributed in the US by Women Make Movies, NY.
1969 "Rouge l'aube" Algiers : ENAL (play)
1969 "Poèmes pour l'Algérie heureuse" Algiers: ENAL (poetry)
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