Tahar Ben Jelloun

Born in Fez in 1944, Tahar Ben Jelloun attended a bilingual Arab-French primary school, studied at the French High School in Tangier and then studied philosophy in Rabat, where he wrote his first poems – collected in hommes sous linceul de silence (Men under shroud of silence (1971). He then teaches philosophy in Morocco and settles in Paris to continue his studies in psychology. Starting in 1972, he writes numerous articles for Le Monde. In 1975, he obtains a PhD in social psychiatry. In 1985, he publishes the novel L’enfant de sable (The Sand Child) which makes him famous and in 1987 he wins the Prix Goncourt for La Nuit Sacrée. He speaks frequently in schools and universities.