Rabat houses the Chair of African Literature and Arts

More than a tribute, it is through a real rehabilita­tion to an immense Afri­can writer, that the ‘‘Chair of African Literature and Arts’’ was inaugurated on May 16 and 17, at the Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco, in Rabat.

On the occasion of a symposium entit­led “From the Duty of Violence to the Duties of Literature”, the new Chair returns to the work, while underli­ning the singular destiny of the great Malian writer Yambo Ouologuem. Winner of the Renaudot Prize in 1968 for ‘‘The Duty of Violence’’, Ouo­loguem, who was the first African to benefit from such a distinction, was later bruised by accusations of plagia­rism and harsh and unfair criticism. A cabal, which the writer and member of the Goncourt Academy, Tahar Ben Jelloun, did not hesitate to describe as “Racist and xenophobic”. Yambo Ouologuem then chose exile and si­lence. It is this silence that will be the subject of all the attention of the par­ticipants in the symposium. The par­ticipants in the symposium include: the members of the Academy of the Kingdom, the heads of the Chair, Eu­gène Ebodé and Rabiaa Marhouch, Professor Abderrhaman Tenkoul, the members of the steering committee of the ‘‘doctoral students of the Aca­demy’’ and the writers and academics invited to this occasion: the writer Tahar Ben Jelloun, the Guadeloupean author Simone Schwarz-Bart, the Ca­meroonian novelist Calixthe Beyala, the writer and publisher Jean-Pierre Orban, the literary agent Pierre Astier, the academic Aboubakr Chraïbi, the American critic and translator Chris­topher Wise, and academics Kaiju Harinen and Sarah Burnautzki.

Dedicated to the promotion, enhan­cement, and exhibition of the literary and artistic heritage of the African continent and its diaspora, the ‘‘Chair of African Literature and Art’’ has set itself the task of decompartmentali­zing this heritage, both geographically and on the linguistic level by creating bridges between its different modes of expression, its different cultural areas, as well as these different languages.

The Chair intends to take into ac­count in its work both written and oral literature, particularly in verna­cular languages. Africa, it should be noted, alone brings together half of the world’s linguistic reserves. The goal for the promoters of the project is to encourage the circulation of knowledge, which was for too long compartmentalized in sealed cultural areas.

The programming of the Chair re­volves around two important sections. A university and academic section and a second artistic section. The first one aims to promote research and excel­lence in the field of literary, scientific and artistic knowledge, through the organization of symposiums, confe­rences and seminars… All of it in par­tnership with African universities and other cultural institutions on the conti­nent. To speed up the dissemination of knowledge to African academics, researchers and young audiences, the Academy of the Kingdom intends to play an important role in the dis­tribution and creation of scientific content (scientific journals, publica­tion of conference proceedings, and other content). In short, it is a ques­tion of creating a structuring cluster for the collection, reassessment, and dissemination of literary and artis­tic knowledge on the continent. The Chair also aspires to be a consecra­tion body in Africa, by Africa and for Africa, thanks to international coope­ration entities concerned with pooling knowledge and respectful of an ethic based on equal access of all cultures to the great contemporary literary, cultural and artistic scene.

The second section which is artistic will be centered on the exhibition of the diversity of African arts, both tradi­tional and contemporary. Hosted in the sumptuous Oudayas site, this section intends to promote Moroccan cultu­ral and artistic riches, their originality and diversity. A heritage that ranges from the Egyptian and Arab-Amazigh heritage to the powerful sub-Saharan artistic mosaic.

A .Bo