PRESS RELEASE
***
Moroccan poet Abdellatif Laâbi
wins the 20h International
Prize of Humor
*****
Rabat , Monday December 23, 2024, Razak the supervisor
of the International Prize of Humor (alias Bouzghiba Awards) is happy to announce
Moroccan poet Abdellatif
Laabi as the winner of The 20th
B-Awards.
Abdellatif Laabi is born
in 1942 . He is also novelist and translator. Influenced by Dostoyevsky in his
youlth, he founded with others Moroccan artists the periodical magazine ’’Souffles’’
in two languages and participated in introducing university theater in Morocco.
He became so famous after his imprisonment. Now he represents one of most
influential voices from Africa like the Congolese Kama Kamanda and Nigerian Wole Soyinka.
The ’’Bouzghgiba-Awards” is an original cultural prize
which was created in 2005 by the
Moroccan artist, writer and critic-movie Razak Abderazzak. The creator of
Bouzghiba’s avatar launched this cultural award in order to encourage
humoristic performances around the World. The trophy is represented by a painting made by
him and inspired by the life of the winner .
Art painting and bibliophilia are the two fundamentals
characteristics that distinguish this anti-materialist prize. 3
Tomes have been published under the same label, including one in France. Razak
has published several books (7 in France 1 in Canada and 5 in Morocco).
Razak the
initiator of this cultural prize explains the reason of this choice : “Abdellatif Laâbi is the second poet to be awarded
after Egyptian Ahmed Fouad Najm. Both
went to prison for their ideas and beliefs. The two winners stand out for their flowing verve and the
passion that they combine with their intellectual commitment, a quality that
has become very rare in these times, dominated by falsification,
double-language and disguise. In company of the Congolese Kama Sywor Kamanda
and the Nigerian Wole Soyinka, Abdellatif Laâbi represents the resounding and
reverberating voice of contemporary Africa. Poerty is what remains human
facing invading robotism and mechanical behavior .
What is humorous about him to deserve a B-Awards? It is the derision
manifested first in some of his literary
writings, then in his attitude of a committed intellectual who has suffered the
pangs of long-term imprisonment for his ideas, but who makes fun of this worst
past instead of being haunted by it. This aspect will be detailed in the
monographic book. The 20th International Humor Prize is awarded to him for this
extraordinary ability to transform mobidity into a amazing source of
inspiration. The poet claims that it was in prison that he perfected the
classical Arabic language. Without this virtue , he would not have made a good
translator.
Finally, a little one said about the double decade of the B-Awards? Thanks
to hard work and dedication, we have reached the twentieth edition, it is an
achievement that we should be proud of. Because, although we do not benefit
from any public or private aid, we have proven the usefulness of the approach
both at the societal level and at the level of cultural added value, with
probity and sacrifice. Twenty years, twenty interrogative moments where
critical thinking culminates constructively and where emotion interferes with
the instructive pleasantly suggested. It is also the trajectory of a passion.
The demonstrative momentum of an unwavering faith in the excellence of the well
said, the well acted and the well done, an anthological look transcending
borders, ethnoracial divisions, a pledge of perseverance that many altruistic
temptation crowns. Even in the face of the Corona virus, the Prize has ignored
confinement. The trophy gallery has reached the twentieth rare piece. Behind
this enchanting longevity, a painting and a quote in a book. The event
bookpress is well stocked. We warmly thank the journalists who since the
beginning of the adventure have helped to maintain the flame in a state of luminescence and the
will in a state of vivacity. To celebrate this double decade, we have
broadcasted a commemorative video and posted it through social media
platforms.”
For more
details
awardsbouzghiba@gmail.com
http://razakcinema.blogspot.com
No comments:
Post a Comment