#send me asks and i'll do morocco next

[rapha-reads]

For the native country asks: 11, 12, 22~

(Thank you for providing me for a quick break in between essay writing! Love you)

11. favourite native writer/poet?

Oh boy. Do you have 4 hours? My favourite poem is "Il pleure dans mon cœur/ Comme il pleut sur la ville", but I appreciate more Paul Eluard's poems ("Sur mes refuges détruits / Sur mes phares écroulés / Sur les murs de mon ennui / J’écris ton nom / [...] Liberté").

In terms of narrative/prose writers... Oof. I have a BA in French Literature, AND I've been living mostly in libraries and bookshops since I was 5. So, um. I love French literature. The master writer of French kids of the 2000s is the regretted Pierre Bottero with his series "Ewilan" (a must read). Lately, as I am deep in essay writing about culture and stuff, I've been reading some Malraux, especially his 1966 speech that you can find here and that is absolutely amazing. Big fan of Alexandre Dumas and Théophile Gautier in the 19th century, Fred Vargas and Nancy Huston in the 21st, Eric Orsenna and Eric-Emmanuel Schmidt in the 20th... Don't have time to go in-depth too much right now, but anyone, do feel free to send me asks about French literature!

12. what do you think about English translations of your favourite native prose/poem?

Ooooh, bad, bad. I generally prefer original versions of what I'm reading, and if I don't know the language, I'm very careful to look up what bilingual people say about the translation. Some time ago, in one of my literature class, we were talking about a French text, I don't remember which one, and the prof showed us the original text and then a translation (in Spanish), and oooow, the translation completely lost the point of the text, none of the lyricality of it had been transposed. (I am a snob when it comes to languages and literatures, I am well aware of that) Other than that, I don't read translated French writings in English, so I don't have anything else to say.

22. what makes you proud about your country? what makes you ashamed?

*snorts in French* Let's start with ashamed because oh boy have you been following French news lately? Macron is an asshole, the gouvernement is full of idiots, thieves, criminals and racist pieces of shits, society still has a problem with its colonial past (hello racism, hello xenophobia), and it's paradoxically very proud of its culture while being almost illiterate, the pretentiousness of French people, the hypocrisy...

But it's also a beautiful country that has made and still makes amazing creations, has a long history of humanism and intellectualism, a history of hospitality and fiery defence of its people and its values (without any irony and knowing well how horrible it was, I would have loved to live through the Révolution in 1789). Good food, good bread, good pâtisserie. Excellent literature and music. Beautiful landscapes. I hate France as much as I love it, but I would not go back to live there even if you pay me.

Send me another not-US ask and I'll do the Moroccan version!