Abdellatif Laâbi

About

Abdellatif Laâbi (born 1942) is a Moroccan poet, novelist, translator, and political activist whose work has made him a leading voice in Francophone North African literature. Born in Fez, Morocco, he became involved in the country’s cultural and political movements during the 1960s. In 1966, he co-founded Souffles, an influential literary journal that challenged colonial legacies and advocated radical cultural renewal. The Moroccan authorities banned the journal in 1972, and Laâbi was imprisoned for his political beliefs. He spent eight years in prison, where he endured torture and continued to write. Released in 1980, he later went into exile in France. His writing combines political resistance with reflections on love, memory, spirituality, and human solidarity. Among his many honours, he received the Prix Goncourt de la poésie in 2009 and the Grand Prix de la Francophonie in 2011. His work remains a testament to literature’s power to resist oppression and defend human dignity.