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" We have no Arab intellectuals of international stature because we live in a state of generalized mediocrity. We are suspended in the pit without touching the bottom. "

Tahar Ben Jelloun

Live

Because

Mediocrity

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" For me, poetry is a situation - a state of being, a way of facing life and facing history. "

Tahar Ben Jelloun

History

Situation

" I have written about the dispossessed, immigrants, the condition of women who do not enjoy the same legal rights as men, the Palestinians who are deprived of their land and condemned to exile. "

" We do not have many intellectuals who can speak out for us internationally. We have no writers who are recognized, respected and loved outside the Arab world. "

" This universe can very well be expressed in words and syllables which are not those of one's mother tongue. "

" In Morocco, it's possible to see the Atlantic and the Mediterranean at the same time. "

" I write about wounds, the eternal treasons of life. It's not very funny, but it's sincere. My commitment is to sincerity. "

" I am a guest of the French language. My poems in French are born of my interaction with the French language, which is not the same as that of a French poet. "

" In the '70s I was in exile; every time I went back I wondered if they'd take my passport away. "

" Poetry is not only a set of words which are chosen to relate to each other; it is something which goes much further than that to provide a glimpse of our vision of the world. "

" I don't feel guilty about expressing myself in French; nor do I feel that I am continuing the work of the colonizers. "

" An individual voice can be heard in a choir that otherwise sings in unison. This is something that is not excused. "

" There are very few great poets in the world. "

" I do not use the language of my people. I can take liberties with certain themes which the Arabic language would not allow me to take. "