In conversation with Mustapha Benfodil

French at Leeds and International Writers at Leeds are delighted to welcome the Algerian journalist, writer and visual artist Mustapha Benfodil.

This talk takes place at the Quaker Hall, Quaker Meeting House, 188 Woodhouse Lane, Leeds LS2 9DX

French at Leeds and International Writers at Leeds are delighted to welcome the Algerian journalist, writer and visual artist Mustapha Benfodil, who will read from some of his poetry, novels and journalism in English translation. These readings will be followed by a discussion in English and French facilitated by interpreters.  

Born in the western Algerian city of Relizane in 1968, Mustapha Benfodil is one of Algeria’s most prominent journalists, working for the leading daily newspaper, El Watan, recently the subject of a documentary (Contre-pouvoirs) by Malek Bensmaïl (2016). Mustapha Benfodil is part of an emerging generation of avant-garde Algerian writers and artists of the post-civil war era and is known for his blending of the boundaries between literature, art and political activism. 

His novels include Zarta! (Barzakh, 2000), Les Bavardages du Seul (Barzakh 2003) – winner of the prize for the best Algerian novel in 2004 – and Archéologie du chaos [amoureux] (Barzakh, 2007; published in France by Al Dante, 2012). He is the author of five plays, including Clandestinopolis (2005; staged at the Avant-scène théâtre, Paris, 2008); Les Borgnes (2011); and Le Point de Vue de la Mort (Al Dante, 2013). Mustapha has also published in book form his experiences as war reporter in Iraq: Les six derniers jours de Baghdad: journal d’un voyage de guerre (2003).  An English translation of his poetry is forthcoming in 2018 (Cocktail Kafkaïne). This year also sees the publication of L’AntiLivre that maps the social and political evolution of Algeria over several decades based on Mustapha’s personal diaries.   

For more information about this event, please contact Dr Jim House: mailto:j.r.house@leeds.ac.uk

Please note new venue: Quaker Hall, Quaker Meeting House, 188 Woodhouse Lane, Leeds LS2 9DX (300 m up Woodhouse Lane from Parkinson Steps, on right hand side immediately before the Fenton pub, opposite the University’s Mechanical Engineering building). Directions:http://www.leedsquakers.org.uk/meetings/_room-hire