The Yale Anthology of Twentieth-Century French Poetry

Tahar Bekri 1951–

gabès, tunisia

A

poet, essayist, and literary critic, Bekri is not only one of the leading

Maghrebian writers but also a specialist on Maghrebian literature. His

work is marked by its revolutionary impulses and the author’s search

for and evocation of an ailleurs, an ‘‘elsewhere.’’ Bekri was twice arrested and

finally sent into political exile (1976–1989) for his militant action for democracy

and justice in his country. In 1976 he settled in Paris. He writes in both French

and Arabic. Principal works: Le Laboureur du soleil, 1983, 1991; Le Chant du roi

errant, 1985; Le Coeur rompu aux océans, 1988; Poèmes à Selma, 1989, 1996 (in

Arabic); Marcher sur l’oubli, 1991; La Sève des jours, 1991; Les Chapelets d’attache,

1993; Journal de neige et de feu, 1997 (in Arabic); Les Songes impatients, 1997.

Return to Tunisia

XIV

Sounding

the criée

in the morning the wello√ rivals

On the wharves

Our steps like empty crates

Resound in the unskilled secret

Sails bring back our bluetinged troubles

XV

Spilling

into our days

Traces of flowering mimosas

The waters stagnant as sobs

Snared in the gleams of moorings

Happiness stolen in litany

The friend set aside some pears on the way