Mahi Binebine
Encyclopedia
Mahi Binebine is a Moroccan painter
and novelist born in Marrakech
in 1959. Binebine has written six novels which have been translated into various languages.
In 1980 Mahi Binebine went to Paris and studied mathematics, in which he was a teacher for eight years. After that he devoted himself to writing and painting. He emigrated to New York and lived there from 1994 to 1999.
In "Mamaya’s Last Journey" the author is drawing on an episode from his own family history. His brother Aziz was one of the young officers who had taken part in the failed military coup against King Hassan II in 1971. For 18 years, he was imprisoned in the desert camp of Tazmamart
, under conditions of unimaginable and almost indescribable brutality. Of the 56 prisoners, only half survived; among them, Aziz Binebine. Mahi Binebine’s fellow writer Tahar Ben Jelloun
took this story as the basis for his controversial novel This Blinding Absence of Light.
Welcome to Paradise, the English translation of Cannibales, was short-listed for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize
in 2004.
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
and novelist born in Marrakech
Marrakech
Marrakech or Marrakesh , known as the "Ochre city", is the most important former imperial city in Morocco's history...
in 1959. Binebine has written six novels which have been translated into various languages.
In 1980 Mahi Binebine went to Paris and studied mathematics, in which he was a teacher for eight years. After that he devoted himself to writing and painting. He emigrated to New York and lived there from 1994 to 1999.
In "Mamaya’s Last Journey" the author is drawing on an episode from his own family history. His brother Aziz was one of the young officers who had taken part in the failed military coup against King Hassan II in 1971. For 18 years, he was imprisoned in the desert camp of Tazmamart
Tazmamart
Tazmamart was a secret prison in south-eastern Morocco in the Atlas Mountains, holding political prisoners. The prison became a symbol ofoppression in the political history of contemporary Morocco...
, under conditions of unimaginable and almost indescribable brutality. Of the 56 prisoners, only half survived; among them, Aziz Binebine. Mahi Binebine’s fellow writer Tahar Ben Jelloun
Tahar Ben Jelloun
Tahar Ben Jelloun is a Moroccan poet and writer. The entirety of his work is written in French, although his first language is Arabic.-Life:...
took this story as the basis for his controversial novel This Blinding Absence of Light.
Welcome to Paradise, the English translation of Cannibales, was short-listed for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize
Independent Foreign Fiction Prize
The Independent Foreign Fiction Prize was inaugurated by British newspaper The Independent to honour contemporary fiction in translation in the United Kingdom. The award was first launched in 1990 and ran for five years before falling into abeyance. It was revived in 2001 with the financial support...
in 2004.
Novels
- Le griot de Marrakech, Ed. L'Aube, ISBN 2-7526-0212-X
- Cannibales : Traversée dans l'enfer de Gibraltar, Ed. L'AUBE, ISBN 2-7526-0155-7 (English Translation Welcome to Paradise)
- Terre d'ombre brulée, Ed. Fayard, ISBN 2-213-61762-7
- Le sommeil de l'esclave, Ed. Stock, ISBN 2-234-02488-9
External links
- Bibliomonde http://www.bibliomonde.com/auteur/mahi-binebine-82.html (retrieved on Feb. 11, 2009)
- Official website of Mahi Binebine
- Qantara.de http://www.qantara.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-304/_nr-16/_p-1/i.html