Moroccan writers mourn Abdelsalam Al-Taweel

Moroccan literary circles are mourning the loss of novelist and short story writer Abdelsalam Al-Taweel, whose writings were deeply intertwined with his life's pains and experiences. Colleagues and friends have paid tribute to the author, remembering him as a unique voice in Moroccan literature.

“

Abdelsalam Al-Taweel is not a conciliatory writer, though he may seem calm, but rather a disturbing music sculptor whose voice is filled with questions, fueled by his adoration for Wagner in times of ideological confusion and romantic stagnation.

Writer Al-Zubair bin Bushta described Al-Taweel not as a "conciliatory writer" despite his calm demeanor, but as a "disturbing music sculptor" whose voice was filled with questions and a deep passion for Wagner. Bin Bushta noted that Al-Taweel's work accumulated over time, with his writings flowing with pain that healed wounds, though not the soul. He wrote not from a detached perspective, but from the lived experience of someone who resisted life's harsh blows, channeling his "wars" into a "safe peace" by replacing ornate narratives with raw, intensely personal accounts.

“

With time, the titles accumulated and the pains multiplied through writing that flowed with pains that healed the wounds, though not the soul; he did not write it with the vision of one who saw, but with a body that resisted the harsh blows of the days; he writes his wars in a safe peace, substituting ornate narrative with raw storytelling, which he carves from the fabric of his extreme experience.

Choukri Al-Bakri highlighted Al-Taweel's multifaceted career as a storyteller, novelist, and translator. Al-Bakri mentioned that Al-Taweel translated lectures by Borges and wrote "Anhaa' al-Faqdan" (The Peripheries of Loss) after his signature was stolen. His home and land were also stolen, leading him to live in parks and cafes for years, experiences he chronicled in "Arkan al-Khid'a" (The Pillars of Deception). His future was jeopardized when a professor at the Faculty of Education grew resentful of an example he gave, a story he told in "Ikhtitaf al-Gaba" (The Abduction of the Forest). Despite these hardships, Al-Taweel continued to write from cafes, parks, and even in the rain, documenting these periods in works like "Mawani' Fasida" (Corrupt Ports), "Sanawat al-Maha" (Years of the Cafe), and "Zaman Mughlaq ka Bareed al-Ahad" (A Time Closed Like Sunday Mail).

“

A storyteller, novelist, and translator; he translated lectures by Borges, and his signature was stolen, and about that he wrote 'The Peripheries of Loss'; his house and land were stolen, and he lived in parks and cafes for years, and about that he wrote 'The Pillars of Deception'; his future was stolen because his professor at the Faculty of Education was angered by an example he gave, and he wrote about it in 'The Abduction of the Forest'; and despite that, he kept writing, he wrote in the cafe and in the park and in the rain, and he wrote about it in 'Corrupt Ports', 'Years of the Cafe', and 'A Time Closed Like Sunday Mail'.

Al-Taweel passed away at the age of 63. Born in the Gharrabiya region near Tangier, he studied philosophy and began publishing his initial texts in Moroccan newspapers before venturing into novels and short story collections. Bin Bushta also pointed out Al-Taweel's dissatisfaction with the "short story collection" genre assigned to his first publication, "Madain al-Shams" (Cities of the Sun). Al-Taweel consistently stated that he wrote "open texts" not subject to any specific genre, preferring the term "open texts" if a label was absolutely necessary, as it best reflected his literary concept and artistic vision for those particular works.

“

He was not at all satisfied with the genre (short story collection) that the publisher placed on his first release 'Cities of the Sun'; as Al-Taweel kept repeating whenever this title was brought up that he writes open texts not subject to any genre, and if a genre must be placed on the cover, he might prefer the phrase (open texts); because it is closest to his literary concept and artistic vision in these texts, at least.