num_pages: 172
description: This surreal poetry maps Moroccos cultural history as Bouanani hauntingly evokes all of the violence inflicted on his country The Shutters collects the two most important poetry collectionsThe Shutters and Photogramsby the legendary Moroccan writer Ahmed Bouanani. By intertwining myth and tradition with the familiar objects and smells of his lived present Bouanani reconstructs vivid images of Morocco's past. He weaves together references to the Second World War the Spanish and French protectorates the Rif War dead soldiers prisoners and poets screaming in their tombs with mouths full of dirt. His poetry written in an imposed language with a strange alphabet bravely confronts the violence of his country's historyparticularly during the period of les annes de plomb  the years of leadall of which bears the brutal imprint of colonization. As Bouanani writes These memories retrace the seasons of a country that was quickly forgetful of its past indifferent to its present constantly turning its back on the future.
language: English
title: The Shutters
publisher: New Directions