Tahar Djaout

Tahar Djaout
Born	January 11, 1954 Oulkhou, Algeria
Died	June 2, 1993(1993-06-02) (aged 39) Bainem, Algeria
Occupation	Journalist, poet
Nationality	Algerian

Tahar Djaout (January 11, 1954 – June 2, 1993) was an Algerian journalist, poet, and fiction writer. He was assassinated in 1993 by the Armed Islamic Group.

Early life

He was born in Oulkhou, in the relatively secular Kabylie region.

Assassination

He was assassinated by the Armed Islamic Group because of his support of secularism and opposition to what he considered fanaticism. He was attacked on May 26, 1993, as he was leaving his home in Bainem, Algeria. He died on June 2, after lying in a coma for a week. One of his attackers professed that he was murdered because he "wielded a fearsome pen that could have an effect on Islamic sectors."^[1]

After his death the BBC made a documentary about him entitled 'Shooting the Writer', introduced by Salman Rushdie.

Work

• The Last Summer of Reason Novel, Ruminator Books, 2001] (French edn: Le dernier été de la raison, Paris, Seuil, 1999]
• The Watchers [Novel, Ruminator Books] (French edn: Les Vigiles, Editions du Seuil, 1991)
• L'invention du Desert, [Novel, Editions du Seuil, 1987]
• Les Chercheurs d'Os [Novel, Editions du Seuil, 1984]
• Les Rets de l'oiseleur (short stories) [SNED, Algiers, 1983]
• L'oiseau minéral, poems, [Sigean, L'Orycte, 1982]
• L'exproprié, [Novel, SNED, Algiers, 1981]
• Insulaire et Cie, poems [Sigean, L'Orycte, 1980]
• L'Arche à vau-l'eau, poems [Editions Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Paris, 1978]
• Solstice Barbelé, poems, [Editions Naaman, Québec, 1975]

External links

• Tahar Djaout
• Silence is Death: The Life and Work of Tahar Djaout by Julija Sukys
• "Islamists Killed Tahar Djaout: We Should Give Life to His Ideas," by Jennifer Bryson, January 16, 2009, The Public Discourse
• Ali Chibani, Tahar Djaout et Lounis Aït Menguellet. Temps clos et ruptures spatiales, Paris, L'Harmattan, 2012.

References