Salim Jay

Salim Jay (born in 1951) is a Moroccan novelist, essayist and literary critic. He was born in Paris from a Moroccan father and a French mother. He has written about 20 books, numerous essays and more than thousand newspaper articles.

His "Dictionnaire des Écrivains marocains", published in 2005 by "éditions EDDIF (Maroc)" and "Paris-Méditérannée (France)" is a biographical dictionary of Moroccan writers who have expressed themselves in French language. The book has established itself already as a standard reference tool.

Background

Salim Jay lived in Rabat from 1957 to 1973. His father was a poet who wrote in classical Arabic and was a friend of late king Mohammed V to whom Jay devoted the novel "Portrait du Géniteur en Poète Officiel" (Denoel, 1985). When Salim Jay was fourteen he made his first steps in journalism. He wrote an article for l'Opinion, the newspaper of the nationalist and royalist Istiqlal Party. In 1973 he heeded warnings and went into exile in France. He would not return for 29 years. He kept contact with his native country through the writings of other Moroccans. Salim Jay has a column in "Qantara", the magazine of the prestigious 'Institut du Monde Arabe' in Paris.

Besides articles on the literature of Morocco, Jay has written on French writers like Michel Tournier, Henri Thomas and Jean Freustié. His own favorite is "101 Maliens nous manquent", 1987, ed. Arcantère.

Bibliography

• Brèves notes cliniques sur le cas Guy des Cars Barbare, 1979
• La Semaine où Madame Simone eut cent ans La Différence, 1979
• Le Fou de lecture et les quarante romans Confrontation, 1981
• Tu seras Nabab, mon fils, (sous le pseudonyme d’Irène Refrain) Rupture, 1982
• Bernard Frank Rupture 1982
• Romans maghrébins L’Afrique littéraire, 1983
• Romans du monde noir L’Afrique Littéraire, 1984
• Portrait du géniteur en poète officiel Denoël, 1985
• Idriss, Michel Tournier, et les autres La Différence, 1986
• Cent un Maliens nous manquent Arcantère, 1987
• L’Afrique de l’Occident (1887-1987) L’Afrique littéraire, 1987
• L’Oiseau vit de sa plume Belfond, 1989
• Avez-vous lu Henri Thomas ? Le Félin, 1990
• Les Écrivains sont dans leur assiette « Point Virgule », Seuil, 1991
• Starlette au haras, (sous le pseudonyme d’Alexandra Quadripley) Editions de Septembre, 1992
• Du côté de Saint-Germain-des-Prés Jacques Bertoin, 1992
• Pour Angelo Rinaldi Belles Lettres, 1994
• Jean Freustié, romancier de la sincérité Le Rocher, 1998
• Sagesse du milieu du monde Paris Méditerranée, 1999
• Tu ne traverseras pas le détroit Mille et une nuits, 2001
• Dictionnaire des écrivains marocains Paris Méditerranée - Eddif, 2005
• Embourgeoisement immédiat ed. La Différence, 2006 (see article: [1] )

External links

Article (in French) by Fouad Laroui "Salim Jay est-il un écrivain marrocain ?" [2]