Mohammed Mrabet correspondence, reviews, and other material

Collection

Identifier: MSS 0674

Staff Only

Scope and Content Note

Moroccan author and artist Mohammed Mrabet (born 1940) worked closely with American expatriate writer and musician Paul Bowles (1910-1999). This collection contains letters from several of Mrabet's friends and colleagues; significant correspondents include the American writers and editors Irving Stettner (1922-2004) and Michael Wolfe (born 1945). Also included are reviews of Mrabet's works and several photocopied dust jackets from his books.

The material in the collection reflects the interest in Mrabet's literary work during a productive period of his career. The reviews of Mrabet's books in English, Dutch, and Arabic, among other languages, are indicative of his international appeal through collaborations with Paul Bowles as his compiler and translator.

Stettner's letters to Mrabet frequently discussed personal matters as well as his literary magazine Stroker, to which Mrabet frequently contributed. Stettner was a great admirer of Mrabet's work and published several of his letters, ink drawings, and stories.

The letters from Michael Wolfe reveal admiration for Mrabet's work, as well as the personal bond the two writers shared, revealing a planned trip to Mecca as well as a road trip across Northern Africa.

Other letters in the collection include a letter from Mrabet to his agent, Roberto de Hollanda; a note from photographer Cherie Nutting to Mrabet; a letter from publisher Paola Igliori; a letter from publisher Basilio Balthasar in Spanish; a letter from American expatriate and diarist John [Hopkins]; and a note from Paul Bowles in French.

The collection includes approximately thirty-four reviews of Mrabet's books in English, Spanish, French, Arabic, and Dutch. Titles include Love with a Few Hairs, M'Hashish, The Beach Café and the Voice, The Chest , and The Lemon. The collection also contains several photocopied dust jackets from Mrabet's books and a catalog from the University of Delaware Library's 1990 exhibition, "Paul Bowles at 80," which featured books and artwork by Mrabet.

Dates

Creation: 1968-1989

Creator

Mrabet, Mohammed, 1936- (Person)

Language of Materials

Materials in English Spanish, French, Arabic, and Dutch.

Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Use of materials from this collection beyond the exceptions provided for in the Fair Use and Educational Use clauses of the U.S. Copyright Law may violate federal law. Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. Please contact Special Collections, University of Delaware Library, http://library.udel.edu/spec/askspec/

Biographical Note

Moroccan author and artist Mohammed Mrabet (born 1940) worked closely with American expatriate writer and musician Paul Bowles (1910-1999). Mrabet published several novels and collections of short stories by dictating to Bowles, who recorded the stories Mrabet related in Moghrebi and then translated them into English.

Mrabet was born as Mohammed ben Chaib el Hajjam. His family is a part of the Temsamani tribe. During his childhood, his family moved to Tangier, where he worked and continues to work primarily as a fisherman. Mrabet had no formal education outside of personal study of the Quran.

Bowles recorded the stories Mrabet told him and then transcribed them in English, from which they have been translated into over fourteen languages. Mrabet's work often depicts the intersections between Western culture and Moroccan tradition. Drawing on traditional Moroccan tales, Mrabet's work is rooted in an oral storytelling tradition that contributes to the multiple layers and often inconclusive endings found in his work.

Mrabet's novels and short stories have been well-received in the United States, France, and England. His novels include Love with a Few Hairs (1968), The Lemon (1969), and M'Hashish (1969); collections of his stories include The Boy Who Set the Fire and Other Stories (1974), The Chest (1983), and The Beach Café and the Voice (1979).

Mrabet is also known widely for his art and has had many of his artworks published in the magazine Stroker and exhibited in galleries in the United States. Mrabet visited the United States twice and wrote about his experiences in his autobiographical novel Look and Move On (1976).

Biographical information derived from collection."Mohammed ben Chaib el Hajjam." Contemporary Authors Online (reproduced in Biography Resource Center). http://www.galenet.com/servlet/BioRC (accessed November 21, 2013).

Extent

.33 linear foot (1 box)

Additional Description

Abstract

Moroccan author and artist Mohammed Mrabet (born 1940) worked closely with American expatriate writer and musician Paul Bowles (1910-1999). This collection contains letters from several of Mrabet's friends and acquaintances, most notably from American writers and editors Irving Stettner (1922-2004) and Michael Wolfe (born 1945). Also included are reviews of Mrabet's works and photocopied dust jackets from his books.

Source

Purchase, August 2013.

Related Materials in this Repository

MSS 0163, Paul Bowles papers

MSS 0164, Paul Bowles collection

Materials Cataloged Separately

A Room with a View: A History of the Grand Hotel Villa de France (Clandermond and McCarthy, Tangier, 2012) has been removed for cataloging with imprints in Special Collections.