Literature, Art, and a Country in Crisis

Abstract

In December 1991, when it looked as if the leading Islamist party FIS (Front Islamique du Salut) was going to emerge as the single most important political force in Algeria, the regime abruptly put the brakes on what had been one of the most rapid yet most haphazard processes of democratization ever seen. This touched off nearly a decade of brutal undeclared war in which hundreds of thousands were killed, often with little regard for the age, gender, or affiliations of the victims. Women, children, and the elderly were as likely to be butchered in late-night attacks on quiet villages as were the armed militants themselves. These vortexes of violence were touched off by targeted assassinations of artists, intellectuals, and anyone who dared to call for a secular state too openly. Amid the raging violence and frequent death threats, many prominent artists and intellectuals were forced to flee Algeria in droves. One might well imagine that such a situation would bring literary expression to a screeching halt and that an entire generation of the intelligentsia would be silenced. In fact, quite the opposite occurred. Algerian literature, defined in its broadest sense, experienced a genuine and surprising renaissance. Though it sounds almost obscene to say that the violence tearing Algeria apart in the 1990s could be a source of inspiration or trigger for creative writing, in a certain sense it was. Once again, a generation of great writers would emerge out of conflict to create a powerful, evocative body of literature that alternately served as a primal screen denouncing terror and barbarism, a means of grappling and coming to terms with the situation, and a vehicle for imagining a better world. This was not only the case with literature but with other forms of art as well. For example, it was during this period that raf and other forms of Algerian popular music exploded onto the world stage. Perhaps one of the most productive incubators of this new literary talent was a tiny publishing house (an apartment, really) in Paris called Marsa Editions and the cultural review it publishes: Algerie Litterature/Action. Two people, with a modest budget and a passionate commitment to the task, marked out a space to which writers and artists flocked to raise their voices in favor of a free and pluralistic Algeria. The efforts quickly attracted positive attention, and the publication has since become a journal of record for Algerian literature and art. Many of the artists they were first to publish have seen their work find its way into major publishing houses, and AL/A's founders are now working to revitalize the Algerian literary scene back in Algeria. In this interview, the editor and director of the journal, Marie Virolle and ATssa Khelladi, tell the story in their own words. The interview was conducted via e-mail and is translated from French. Halima Lamine, Alchimie du Narcisse (2003) Source: Algerie Litterature/Action 87-88 (March 2005) Courtesy: Marie Virolle