| Intro | Algerian writer | ||
| Was |
Journalist Writer Poet Critic Literary critic |
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| From | Algeria | ||
| Type |
Journalism Literature |
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| Gender | male | ||
| Birth | 11 January 1954, Kabylie, Algeria | ||
| Death |
2 June 1993, Algiers, Algeria (aged 39 years) |
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| Star sign | Capricorn | ||
| Education |
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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 1954 in Oulkhou, a village in the Kabylie region. After university he worked as a journalist for Algérie Actualité, and by the late 1980s, he became one of Algeria’s foremost literary talents.
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 Algiers, 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.”
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]