Nostalgic Rebels: Politics, Aesthetics, and Selfhood in Postcolonial Morocco

Mohammed Khaïr-Eddine (1941–1995), Abdelkébir Khatibi (1938–2009), and Abdellatif Laâbi (1942–) are three of the most important francophone Moroccan writers to have emerged in the 1960s. Belonging to the Souffles generation, named after the journal of culture and politics founded in 1966, they played a major role in cultural decolonization and the development of Moroccan literature. This book examines their works and legacy through the dual lenses of revolt and nostalgia. By weaving together comparative close readings of their writings with an analysis of the broader historical and political context in Morocco, the book demonstrates that these writers have used revolt and nostalgia to address state-sponsored violence, grapple with uncertainties about the writing process, and advance or revitalize their political and aesthetic projects. In doing so, this study traces a literary genealogy of political resistance, aesthetic subversion, and nostalgic reconstruction in postcolonial Morocco, while offering a nuanced historical perspective that is closely attuned to the specificities of Moroccan postcoloniality and sensitive to individual trajectories and experiences. The book covers a wide range of literary genres, including poetry, theater, prose fiction, and autobiography, all analyzed through a distinctively Moroccan historical and cultural lens, providing new insights into Moroccan literature and the theories of revolt and nostalgia.