Tahar Ben Jelloun

Acclaimed poet, novelist, scholar, and human rights activist Tahar Ben Jelloun (1947 – ) wrote his first poems and discovered his passion for writing while imprisoned participating in student demonstrations against the Moroccan government. He went on to establish himself as one of the most outstanding writers of the Souffles-Anfas generation. He went into exile in France in 1971, where he received a doctorate in social psychology from the University of Paris and authored numerous works, including The Sacred Night (1987), for which he became the first African-born recipient of the Prix Goncourt, and This Blinding Absence of Light (2004), which received the International Dublin Literary Award. His books have been translated into 47 languages ​​across 168 countries, and he has been nominated for the Nobel Prize several times.

He has published 15 novels as well as essays and educational books on racism, Islam, and terrorism. A portion of his fiction has been collected in Gallimard’s prestigious Quarto series.

He is also a painter who has exhibited at the San Salvatore in Lauro Museum in Rome (2013), the Tindouf Gallery (2014 and 2016), La Galerie du Passage in Paris (September 2015), and the Patrice Trigano Gallery (2017, 2019, and 2021). Other exhibitions include National Gallery Dubai (March 2018), Museum of Fine Arts  Nancy (September 2018), Paola Forni Gallery, Bologna (April 2019), Fesch Museum Ajaccio (April 2019), and a July–August 2024 Exhibition of approximately thirty canvases at the Delacroix Gallery (Tangier).

Recent publications:

La Punition (The Punishment), narrative; Gallimard, February 2018.
L’Insomnie (Insomnia), novel; Gallimard, January 2019.
Douleur et lumière du monde (Pain and Light of the World), poetry; April 2019 (Gallimard).
La couleur des mots (The Color of Words) (Iconoclaste).
Vitraux (Stained Glass Windows); Saint-Genulf Church, Le Thoureil. With Jérôme Clément; Gallimard (2022).
Les Amants de Casablanca (The Lovers of Casablanca); Gallimard (2023).
Ils se sont tant aimés (They Loved Each Other So Much / The Lovers of Casablanca 2); Gallimard (2025).