Hommage à Abdelkébir Khatibi (1938–2009)

Abdelkébir Khatibi (1938–2009) — novelist, poet, sociologist, and philosopher — was among the most original thinkers produced by Morocco and the wider Maghreb. His concept of bi-langue — the productive tension of living and writing between Arabic and French — became one of the foundational ideas of postcolonial Francophone literary theory, and his influence on subsequent generations of Maghrebian writers and intellectuals has been immense.

This commemorative double issue gathers tributes, critical essays, and translations in honor of Khatibi following his death in March 2009. Contributors explore the full range of his work: his debut novel La Mémoire tatouée (1971), his theoretical essays collected in Maghreb pluriel (1983), his poetry, his collaborations with artists, and his late philosophical writings.

Special attention is given to Khatibi's relationship with Jacques Derrida — a friendship that was also an intellectual dialogue — and to his sustained engagement with questions of identity, the sacred, and the limits of language. The issue includes previously unpublished correspondence and a bibliography of his complete works.