Yacine, Kateb (Writer)

 

 

(1929-1989) novelist, poet, playwright

Kateb Yacine was born in Conde-Smendou, near Constantine, Algeria. Kateb means “writer” in Arabic, which designates Yacine’s family as highly literate. Yacine was raised on both tales of Arab achievements and Algerian legends. These childhood memories had an important influence on his writings. Yacine’s father sent him to a French high school rather than a Qur’anic school when he was a young boy. In 1945, he participated in a nationalist demonstration in Setif, which led to his expulsion from the College de Setif. He was sent to prison without trial for a few months. During this time, he discovered his love for poetry and revolution. In 1950, he moved to France after paying several short visits to the country. His involvement in the Algerian revolution forced him to leave France in 1955, shortly after he had been offered a job at a publishing company. Yacine lived in many countries including Germany, the Soviet Union, Tunisia, and Vietnam, before returning finally to Algeria in 1970. He formed a theatrical company after his return and began to write plays. Yacine died in Grenoble, France.

At age 17, Kateb published his first book, Solil-oques (1946), a collection of poems, and in 1948, he published the long poem “Nedjma ou le poemeou le couteau,” in which the character of Nedjma (the name means “star”), a mysterious woman, first appears. Kateb used the figure of Nedjma in many later poems and plays.

Revolution constitutes an important theme in Yacine’s works. His visits to different countries greatly enhanced his determination to spearhead the Algerian nationalist struggle for independence. In the love story, Nedjma (1956), which recounts a tale of intraclan struggle set against the background of French colonial Algeria, the main protagonist Nedjma is loved by four revolutionaries. Nedjma, the name of the cousin with whom Yacine fell in love, is a mysterious character, obviously influenced by early childhood fantasies that were resurrected from his memories of Algerian legends.

Yacine’s writings explore other important themes as well, such as change and the resilience of Algerian traditional values. Yacine’s heroes are often Marxist revolutionaries, including historical characters in other cultures and societies, such as Ho Chi Minh and Mao zedong. Ho Chi Minh is featured in Yacine’s play, L’ Homme aux sandales de caoutchouc (The Man in the Rubber Sandals) (1970).

Until his death, Yacine believed it was the responsibility of the writer to educate the public that the constant struggle between the proletariat (the working class) and the bourgeoisie (the upper and middle classes) was unceasing. Yacine wrote all his works in French.

A Work about Kateb Yacine

Salhi, Gamal. The Politics and Aesthetics of Kateb Yacine: From Francophone Literature to Popular Theatre in Algeria and Outside. Lewiston, N.Y.: Edwin Mellen Press, 1999.

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