Abstract
This article details the inclusion of postcolonial themes and modern/traditional confrontations and conflicts in the translated tales of Moham m ed M rabet. I indicate the im portance o f preliterate tradition in producing meaning for poor M oroccans. A large part o f the essay is devoted to refuting claims that M rabet represents a colonialist byline o f the expatriate lives o f A m erican writers such as Paul Bowles. The them e o f learning M oroccan culture is also im portant, as it tends to demonstrate appreciation and preservation in a m odem context, traditional narrative and theosophical practices, arts, and m odes o f ideation— hence, m y reference to many o f Paul B ow les’s interviews where he discussed the phenom enon o f M oroccan epistemology. I also include stories that express the traditional/m odem divide in M oroccan cultural life and how traditional, practical, and inventive reasoning derived from sm oking k if—the k if w isdom that I refer to can produce m eaning and resolution for M oroccans. Finally, the article situates M rabet among his postcolonial/m inority literary peers, arguing that M rabet’s stories anticipate postcolonial opinions, conversations, and themes.
Recommended Citation
Chandarlapaty, Raj
(2007)
"In Defense of Tradition: Mohammed Mrabet’s Postcolonial Leanings and the Confrontation of “Kif Wisdom” with Modernity,"
Storytelling, Self, Society: Vol. 3:
Iss.
1, Article 3.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/storytelling/vol3/iss1/3