Algeria

Algeria: News, Stories and Analysis.

Hamza Koudri

‘Writers Understand the World in a Transcendent Way’ Hamza Koudri’s First Draft

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Algerian writer and author of Sand Rose, Hamza Koudri, wants readers to understand that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to culture: ‘Communities are diverse and what you learn about a specific place does not entirely apply to the whole community… Culture varies with every step you take across time and space, and while it is important to familiarize yourself with the dynamic parts of the country and its past, you shouldn’t take anything for granted.’ Read More...
AlgeriaFirst DraftInterviewsJune/July 2025
Fayssal Bensalah

‘Do Not Romanticize Creative Writing’ Fayssal Bensalah’s First Draft

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Algerian writer, Fayssal Bensalah, argues that the North African novel in English has not been canonized into African literature by virtue of tradition: ‘This new literary tide has been obscured both continentally and globally. Its pioneers have been kept out of African literature for a long time, and I wanted to change this by writing an essay that introduces this movement and its writers and books.’ Read More...
AlgeriaApril/May 2025First DraftInterviews
Frantz Fanon

Concerning Violence How Frantz Fanon Might Interpret Today’s France

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Over the last few weeks, France has seen unrest at the death of Nahel Merzouk, a 17-year-old boy of Moroccan and Algerian origin shot and killed by police officers in a Paris suburb. The events dawn on the 98th birthday of Frantz Fanon, the Martinican psychiatrist who, educated in Paris, spent a critical part of his life in Algeria supporting its nationalist liberation movement against France, seeing the revolution as a ‘bridgehead’ of a pan-African vision. Read More...
AfricaAlgeriaBest of 2023: EssaysJune/July 2023