Saharawi poetry and exile – Otman FDILI
Date: Tuesday, April 9, 2019, from 18 to 20h at the House of Research G. Tillion, Germaine Tillion amphitheater.
Oral literature, as an integral part of the Saharawi culture, deals not only with poems, proverbs and music, but also with history, descontes and other artistic expressions. Poetry, the dominant literary genre in Saharawi culture, is a means of artistic expression prevalent in the Saharan provinces. Poetry tackles a variety of topics including gender relations, customs and traditions, and contributes to the animation of social life through family gatherings but also through cultural events such as evenings of songs and dances. Popular proverbs also occupy an important place in Saharawi culture and are considered as a source of wisdom. These proverbs transmit from generation to generation lessons of morality stemming mainly from truthful stories and from individual and collective experiences.
Partner: International University Observatory of Western Sahara (OUISO)
PROGRAM
• Presentation of the speakers and presentation of two recent books:
– Gewinner M., 2016, Generación de la Amistad. Contemporary Saharawi poetry, Lyon, The Tilde workshop.
– Boulay S. and Correale F. (eds.), 2018, Western Sahara: a forgotten conflict, a population in motion, Presses of the University François-Rabelais of Tours, Tours, 424 p.
• Presentation by Sébastien Boulay (Paris Descartes University): context of the Saharawi conflict and Saharawi culture.
• Speech by Mick Gewinner (translator) on Saharawi Spanish poetry and its authors.
• Debate and questions