Poetry
Caravane de la soif
Not translated into English
Hawad · 1985
Synopsis
Feverish words spoken before a dried-up spring, which the poet dedicates to Tellent, to the mirages of the dunes, to the wandering of the wind and to silence, the only star of a caravan drifting through the storms that have broken the frames of the nomad tents. Thirst becomes a quest: in search of water, the thirsty one leaves the marked paths, strays and wanders until he can invent his own road.
Context
The collection was published in 1985 in Aix-en-Provence, by Édisud, with the author's original calligraphies and a French adaptation co-signed by Hélène Claudot, then reissued in 1987 and 1988. It opens the series of the books of thirst, which are continued two years later by Chants de la soif et de l'égarement. The ethnologist Marceau Gast reviewed it in the Annuaire de l'Afrique du Nord.
Who it is for
Poems in Tifinagh and French, published in a bilingual edition. The graphic form is part of the text.
Prizes and reception
The author's first published book, it opens the theme of thirst that runs through his work; it was translated into Italian and Spanish from the French version.