Crossed by various civilizations for centuries, Algeria has a rich and varied cultural heritage, which is reflected in literature, music, cinema, theatre, crafts and painting.
ALGERIAN litErature
The founders of Algerian literature:
– Mouloud Mameri- Mohamed Dib – Mouloud Feraoun – Kateb Yacine
Steeped in various influences, Algerian literature is expressed in Arabic, French and Tamazight languages. Even if during colonization period appeared a literary current known as “Algerianist”, baptized “the School of Algiers” with, in particular, Isabelle Eberhardt, Emmanuel Roblès, Albert Camus or Jean Pélégri, this did not prevent the birth of an Algerian literature of French expression with Jean Amrouche (The Eternal Jugurtha, 1946) Mohammed Dib (The Big House, 1952) Mouloud FERAOUN (The poor man’s son, 1950), Kateb Yacine (Nedjma, 1956), Malek Haddad (I will offer you a gazelle, 1959), Frantz Fanon (The Wretched of the Earth, 1961), Assia Djebar (The naive larks, 1967).
Poetry was also present in the works of Jean Sénac, Anna Gréki and Djamal Amrani.
After independence, French-language literature continued with Mourad Bourboune (The Muezzin, 1968), Rachid Boudjedra (The repudiation, 1981), Rabah Belamri (The pomegranate bird, 1986), Rachid Mimouni (Tombeza, 1984 ), Yasmina Khadra (What the day owes the night, 2008) and Malika Mokadem (The forbidden woman, 2005).
As for Arabic-language literature – already present in the colonial era with Cheikh Ben Badis (who published his reformist ideas in the monthly magazine El Chihab), Bachir Ibrahimi (founding members of the Association of ulama), Ahmed Redha Houhou (authors of several essays on Arabic and French literature and short stories, thus renewing the Arabic narrative genre) and Moufdi Zakaria (author, in particular, of Algerian patriotic songs) – it continued to develop thereafter, with leaders Abdelhamid Benhedouga (The Wind from the South, 1971), Tahar Ouettar (L’As, 1974), Zhor Ounissi (Loundja wa lgoula, 1993) and Azzedine Mihoubi (The Sun and the Executioner, 1997), Ahlem Mosteghanemi