Abdelhak Serhane (born in

Sefrou Sefrou is a city in central Morocco situated in the Fès-Meknès region. It recorded a population of 79,887 in the 2014 Moroccan census, up from 63,872 in the 2004 census. Sefrou is known for its historical Jewish population, and its annual cherry ...

in 1950) is a Moroccan novelist writing in French. Serhane grew up in the

Middle Atlas The Middle Atlas (Amazigh: ⴰⵟⵍⴰⵙ ⴰⵏⴰⵎⵎⴰⵙ, ''Atlas Anammas'', Arabic: الأطلس المتوسط, ''al-Aṭlas al-Mutawassiṭ'') is a mountain range in Morocco. It is part of the Atlas mountain range, a mountainous region ...

region of Morocco, in the village

Azrou Azrou ( Berber: Aẓro, ⴰⵥⵔⵓ, Arabic: أزرو) (meaning “rock” or “stone”) is a Moroccan town 89 kilometres south of Fez in Ifrane Province of the Fès-Meknès region. Geography The market town of Azrou is located at a strategi ...

Early life

He studied psychology at the University of Toulouse II and taught at the University Ibn Tofail in

Kénitra Kenitra ( ar, القُنَيْطَرَة, , , ; ber, ⵇⵏⵉⵟⵔⴰ, Qniṭra; french: Kénitra) is a city in north western Morocco, formerly known as Port Lyautey from 1932 to 1956. It is a port on the Sebou river, has a population in 201 ...

, Morocco before he went to Canada to escape from the political oppression of the Moroccan government. Since that time he has split his time between

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

, Canada and the United States where he teaches French literature at the

University of Louisiana at Lafayette The University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette, University of Louisiana, ULL, or UL) is a public research university in Lafayette, Louisiana. It has the largest enrollment within the nine-campus University of Louisiana System and the s ...

. Serhane has been a vociferous critic of the regime of

Hassan II Hassan, Hasan, Hassane, Haasana, Hassaan, Asan, Hassun, Hasun, Hassen, Hasson or Hasani may refer to: People *Hassan (given name), Arabic given name and a list of people with that given name *Hassan (surname), Arabic, Jewish, Irish, and Scottis ...

and has denounced the violent and oppressive nature of the government at that time in novels like ''Mesouda'' and ''Le Soleil des obscurs''. He has taken position against the impunity of those who have enriched themselves thanks to the corruption of the Moroccan political system. In 1993 he received the ''Prix français du monde arabe'', and in 1999 the ''Prix Francophonie, Afrique méditerranéenne''.R.C. Njoku, ''Culture And Customs of Morocco'', Greenwood Publishing Group, 2006, p. 40

Novels

* ''Messaouda'', Paris, Seuil, 1983. (Prix Littéraire des Radios Libres, 1984) * ''Les Enfants des rues étroites'', Paris, Seuil, 1986. * ''Le Soleil des obscurs'', Paris, Seuil, 1992. (Prix Français du Monde Arabe, 1993). * ''Le Deuil des chiens'', Paris, Seuil, 1998. * ''Temps noirs'', Paris, Seuil, 2002. * ''L'homme qui descend des montagnes'', Paris, Seuil, 2009.

Poetry

* ''L'Ivre poème'', Rabat, Al Kalum, 1989. * ''Chant d'ortie'', Paris, L'Harmattan, 1993. * ''La Nuit du secret'', France, Atelier des Grames, 1992.

Short stories and other publications

* ''Les Prolétaires de la haine''. (collection of short stories) Paris: Publisud, 1995. * ''Le Vélo'' Montréal: XYZ, 1991. Repris dans Anthologie de la nouvelle maghrébine, Casablanca: Eddif, 1996. * ''J'écris pour le soleil''. In: Actes du Colloque de Montpellier, 1985. * ''Les mots de la douleur'' In: Oualili. Meknès, 1986. * ''La Femme : un destin périmé''. In: Lamalif. Casablanca, 1986. * ''L'Artisan du rêve''. In: Visions du Maghreb. Montpellier: Edisud, 1987. * ''Le Corpstexte''. In: Horizons maghrébins. Toulouse, 1987. * ''Un Pays aux couleurs de son temps''. In: Librement. Casablanca, 1988. * ''Le Destin des pierres''. In: Autrement. Paris: 1990. * ''L'artisan du rêve''. ClicNet: 1997. * ''L'Amour circoncis''. Casablanca: Eddif, 1996. * ''Le Massacre de la tribu''. Casablanca: Eddif, 1997.

References

*Azahaf, Saïd, ''La fonction socio-critique du discours romanesque dans ''Les enfants des rues étroites d'Abdelhak Serhane'' *Charles Bonn, ''Literature maghrébine d'expression francaise'' 1996 *Bouhamidi, Souad, ''L Impact de la culture sur l'écriture de E.A. El Maleh et A. Serhane'' *Bouchra, Guennoun, ''Récit d'encfance ou roman autobiographique: le cas de "Messaouda" d'Abdelhak Serhane'', 1995 *''La composante narratologique (voix, oralité, typologie du dialogue) dans "Les enfants des rues étroites"de Abdelhak Serhane'', 1994 {{DEFAULTSORT:Serhane, Abdelhak Moroccan novelists Moroccan male writers Male novelists Moroccan male short story writers Moroccan short story writers People from Sefrou 1950 births Living people