Kateb Yacine in 1972: “As a writer, I was, perhaps more than others, alienated by the French language”

Published on June 1, 2025 at 4:00 p.m.

The writer Kateb Yacine (1929-1989), here around 1965. — Writer Kateb Yacine (1929-1989), here circa 1965. LEEMAGE/BRIDGEMAN IMAGES VIA AFP

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Interview In 1972, the great writer Kateb Yacine, who died in 1989 and is considered the founder of contemporary Algerian literature, spoke with "Le Nouvel Observateur" about theatre, his childhood, and the alienation of immigrant workers whose exile, according to him, constitutes the perpetuation of colonialism.

[From our archives, April 10, 1972] With the young Algerian troupe of the Théâtre de la Mer, Kateb Yacine, an Algerian writer, staged his play "Mohamed, take your suitcase." He now performs it around Paris and in the provinces, in youth centers, cultural centers, parish halls, and so on. This play, in spoken Arabic, was written for immigrant workers in France; it was also, in part, written, or at least performed by them. Kateb Yacine tells us how.

How did you come up with the idea of writing a play?

Kateb Yacine I walked through the Algerian douars, or at home, near Chelma. In my parents' village, I saw a young woman baking bread with as many children as flies around her. I asked her where her husband was. In France, for four years. Does he write to you? No. Does he come in the summer? No. She might never see him again, maybe in France he's taken up...

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