The Bottom of the Jar

An exploration of Abdellatif Laabi's childhood city of Fez, The Bottom of the Jaris a warm and lyrical elegy to his family, full of intimate portraits of the lives of various colorful characters who once prowled the alleyways of Morocco's storied medieval capital. Abdellatif Laabi, a novelist, poet, playwright, and translator, was born in 1942 in Fez, Morocco, where he served an eight-year prison sentence under Hassan II. He has lived in Paris ever since. He was awarded the Prix Goncourt for his complete works ( La Difference) and the French Academy's Grand Prix de la Francophonie.

Poet, novelist, playwright, translator, and political activist, Abdellatif Laâbi was born in Fez, Morocco in 1942. He was also the founder of Souffles, an important literary review that was banned in Morocco in 1972. Laâbi received the Prix Robert Ganzo de Poésie in 2008, the Prix Goncourt de la Poésie for his Oeuvres complètes in 2009, and the Académie Française's Grand Prix de la Francophonie in 2011. Also available in English are his debut collection of poetry The Rule of Barbarism, the memoir Rue de Retour, and The World's Embrace: Selected Poems.

André Naffis-Sahely's translations include Laâbi's The Rule of Barbarism (Pirogue Poets Series), and Rachid Boujedra's The Barbary Figs and The Funerals (Arabia Books). His translation of Émile Zola's L'argent is forthcoming from Penguin Classics. He lives in London.