Malek Alloula (1937–2015) was an Algerian poet, writer, editor, and

literary critic Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

. He is chiefly notable for his poetry and essays on philosophy. He wrote several books, including ''Le Harem Colonial'' in 1981, translated into English as ''The Colonial Harem'', which was generally well received. The author analyses

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

photographic postcards of Algerian women from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, arguing that the postcards do not accurately represent Algerian women, but rather a Frenchman's fantasy of the "Oriental" female.

Biography

He was born November 3, 1937 in

Oran Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

. Having graduated from the

École Normale Supérieure École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

, he further studied

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

at the

University of Algiers The University of Algiers (Arabic language, Arabic:جامعة الجزائر – بن يوسف بن خـدة ), commonly called the Algiers 1 University, is a public university, public research university located in Algiers, Algeria. It is the ...

and

La Sorbonne The University of Paris (french: link=no, Université de Paris), Metonymy, metonymically known as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, active from 1150 to 1970, with the exception between 1793 and 1806 under the French Revo ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, where he wrote his

doctoral thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

Denis Diderot Denis Diderot (; ; 5 October 171331 July 1784) was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer, best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the ''Encyclopédie'' along with Jean le Rond d'Alembert. He was a promine ...

, a French philosopher and writer. He married

Assia Djebar Fatima-Zohra Imalayen (30 June 1936 – 6 February 2015), known by her pen name Assia Djebar ( ar, آسيا جبار), was an Algerian novelist, translator and filmmaker. Most of her works deal with obstacles faced by women, and she is noted fo ...

, an Algerian filmmaker and novelist, in 1980; they divorced in 2005. He was the director of the Abdelkader Alloula Foundation, which honors his brother

Abdelkader Alloula Abdelkader Alloula ar, عبد القادر علولة‎ (1939 in Ghazaouet, Algeria – March 14, 1994, in Oran, Algeria) was an Algerian playwright. He was assassinated by GIA terrorists. Biography Alloula was born in Ghazaouet in western ...

, a playwright and stage director who was assassinated in 1994 by members of Islamic Front for Armed Jihad.

Bibliography

Arab Woman With the Yachmak, late 19th century

Having become an editor in Paris in 1967, he continued writing poetry, essays on

poetics Poetics is the theory of structure, form, and discourse within literature, and, in particular, within poetry. History The term ''poetics'' derives from the Ancient Greek ποιητικός ''poietikos'' "pertaining to poetry"; also "creative" an ...

, and philosophy, working in the French language. As a critic, he spoke against the appropriation of poetry in the service of the

Algerian revolution The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...

, following the independence of Algeria from France in 1962. Most of his essays and prose, infused with poetic touches, speak about Algerian culture, Algerian-Berber culture, food, and his childhood memories of his father, teachers, and friends. Among his various publications, the most influential is ''Le Harem Colonial'' (''The Colonial Harem''), which analyzes a collection of postcards displaying "exotic" images of Algerian women, photographed by French colonists and sent back to France. According to Alloula, this was done as a sign of conquest; he asserts that the postcards visually represent power relations between colonized and colonizer. The book provides commentary on the images, especially those depicting eroticized "scenes of Algerian women" during the French colonial regime. Between 1900 and 1930, French entrepreneurs produced postcards of Algerian women and circulated them in France. According to Alloula, this constitutes a French colonial projection of a world that never existed. He declares that, "Wanting to possess the Algerian land, French colonists first claimed the bodies of its women, using sex as a surrogate for an extension of another larger usurpation of culture." Alloula's book claims that these photographs were circulated as evidence of the exotic, backward, and strange customs of Algerians. According to Alloula, the Algerian women used in the images are not actually

harem Harem (Persian: حرمسرا ''haramsarā'', ar, حَرِيمٌ ''ḥarīm'', "a sacred inviolable place; harem; female members of the family") refers to domestic spaces that are reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A hare ...

women, but rather

orphans An orphan (from the el, ορφανός, orphanós) is a child whose parents have died. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents due to death is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usuall ...

and

prostitutes Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...

who were asked to pose for the photographer. Alloula denounces the voyeuristic perspective of the French on Algerian women; he claims the images are not representative of the real Algerian women, but rather of

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

fantasies of the

Oriental The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the ...

female and her inaccessibility in the forbidden harem.

Works

* ''Dans tout ce blanc'' Rhubarbe, Auxerre, Barzah Algiers 2015 * ''Algérie indépendance''. * ''Les festins de l'exil''. * ''Alger 1951: un pays dans l'attente''. * ''Une enfance algérienne''. * ''Rêveurs/sépultures ; suivi de L'exercice des sens: poèmes''. * ''Belles Algériennes de Geiser''. * ''Villes et autres lieux: poèmes''. * ''L'accès au corps: poème''. * ''Villes'' (poems) * ''Le cri de tarzan, la nuit dans un village oranais: nouvelles''. * ''Alger: photographiée au XIXe siècle''. * ''Approchant du seuil ils dirent''. * ''Mesures du vent: poème'' * ''Le harem colonial: images d'un sous-érotisme''. * ''Causses et vallées''. * ''Villes et autres Leux: Poèmes''. * ''Paysages d'un retour''. * ''L'Exercice des sens''. * ''L'autre regard''. * ''Rêveurs-sépultures: suivi de Mesures du vent : poèmes''.

References

External links

Malek Alloula (1937–2015), poet and critic

The Colonial Harem By Malek Alloula

colonial harem

Biography from internationales literaturfestival berlin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alloula, Malek 1937 births Algerian writers 20th-century Algerian poets École Normale Supérieure alumni Algerian literary critics University of Algiers alumni People from Oran University of Paris alumni Algerian male poets 2015 deaths 20th-century male writers Algerian expatriates in France 21st-century Algerian people