Main content
Mohammed Mrabet correspondence, reviews, and other material
Notifications
Held at: University of Delaware Library Special Collections [Contact Us]181 South College Avenue, Newark, DE 19717-5267
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the University of Delaware Library Special Collections. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
Moroccan author and artist Mohammed Mrabet (born 1940) worked closely with American expatriate writer and musician Paul Bowles (1910-1999). Mrabet published several novels and collections of short stories by dictating to Bowles, who recorded the stories Mrabet related in Moghrebi and then translated them into English.
Mrabet was born as Mohammed ben Chaib el Hajjam. His family is a part of the Temsamani tribe. During his childhood, his family moved to Tangier, where he worked and continues to work primarily as a fisherman. Mrabet had no formal education outside of personal study of the Quran.
Bowles recorded the stories Mrabet told him and then transcribed them in English, from which they have been translated into over fourteen languages. Mrabet's work often depicts the intersections between Western culture and Moroccan tradition. Drawing on traditional Moroccan tales, Mrabet's work is rooted in an oral storytelling tradition that contributes to the multiple layers and often inconclusive endings found in his work.
Mrabet's novels and short stories have been well-received in the United States, France, and England. His novels include
Love with a Few Hairs (1968), The Lemon (1969), and M'Hashish (1969); collections of his stories include The Boy Who Set the Fire and Other Stories (1974), The Chest (1983), and The Beach Café and the Voice (1979).Mrabet is also known widely for his art and has had many of his artworks published in the magazine
Stroker and exhibited in galleries in the United States. Mrabet visited the United States twice and wrote about his experiences in his autobiographical novel Look and Move On (1976).Biographical information derived from collection."Mohammed ben Chaib el Hajjam." Contemporary Authors Online (reproduced in Biography Resource Center). http://www.galenet.com/servlet/BioRC (accessed November 21, 2013).
Moroccan author and artist Mohammed Mrabet (born 1940) worked closely with American expatriate writer and musician Paul Bowles (1910-1999). This collection contains letters from several of Mrabet's friends and colleagues; significant correspondents include the American writers and editors Irving Stettner (1922-2004) and Michael Wolfe (born 1945). Also included are reviews of Mrabet's works and several photocopied dust jackets from his books.
The material in the collection reflects the interest in Mrabet's literary work during a productive period of his career. The reviews of Mrabet's books in English, Dutch, and Arabic, among other languages, are indicative of his international appeal through collaborations with Paul Bowles as his compiler and translator.
Stettner's letters to Mrabet frequently discussed personal matters as well as his literary magazine
Stroker, to which Mrabet frequently contributed. Stettner was a great admirer of Mrabet's work and published several of his letters, ink drawings, and stories.The letters from Michael Wolfe reveal admiration for Mrabet's work, as well as the personal bond the two writers shared, revealing a planned trip to Mecca as well as a road trip across Northern Africa.
Other letters in the collection include a letter from Mrabet to his agent, Roberto de Hollanda; a note from photographer Cherie Nutting to Mrabet; a letter from publisher Paola Igliori; a letter from publisher Basilio Balthasar in Spanish; a letter from American expatriate and diarist John [Hopkins]; and a note from Paul Bowles in French.
The collection includes approximately thirty-four reviews of Mrabet's books in English, Spanish, French, Arabic, and Dutch. Titles include
Love with a Few Hairs, M'Hashish, The Beach Café and the Voice, The Chest , and The Lemon. The collection also contains several photocopied dust jackets from Mrabet's books and a catalog from the University of Delaware Library's 1990 exhibition, "Paul Bowles at 80," which featured books and artwork by Mrabet.- Box 1: Shelved in SPEC MSS manuscript boxes (1 inch)
Purchase, August 2013.
Processed and encoded by Rachael Green, November 2013.
People
- Mrabet, Mohammed, 1940-
- Bowles, Paul, 1910-1999
- Stettner, Irving, 1922- --Correspondence
- Wolfe, Michael, 1945- --Correspondence
- Stettner, Irving, 1922-
- Wolfe, Michael, 1945-
Subject
Place
- Tangier (Morocco)--Intellectual life--20th century
- Tangier (Morocco)--Social life and customs--20th century
Occupation
- Publisher
- University of Delaware Library Special Collections
- Finding Aid Author
- University of Delaware Library, Special Collections
- Finding Aid Date
- 2013 November 25
- Access Restrictions
-
The collection is open for research.
- Use Restrictions
-
Use of materials from this collection beyond the exceptions provided for in the Fair Use and Educational Use clauses of the U.S. Copyright Law may violate federal law. Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. Please contact Special Collections, University of Delaware Library, http://library.udel.edu/spec/askspec/
Collection Inventory
Also included with Stettner's letters is a letter from Don Kennison, who was working with Stettner to publish Mrabet's letters to
Stroker in a collection.1 item (1 p.)
1 item (1 p.)
1 item (1 p.)
1 item (1 p.)
1 item (1 p.)
1 item (1 p.)
1 item (1 p.)
1 item (1 p.)
1 item (1 p.)
1 item (1 p.)
1 item (1 p.)
1 item (1 p.)
1 item (1 p.)
1 item (1 p.)
1 item (1 p.)
1 item (1 p.)
1 item (2 p.)
1 item (1 p.)
1 item (1 p.)
1 item (1 p.)
1 item (1 p.)
1 item (1 p.)
1 item (1 p.)
1 item (1 p.)
1 item (1 p.)
1 item (1 p.)
1 item (1 p.)
1 item (2 p.)
1 item (1 p.)
1 item (1 p.)
The letters from Wolfe discussed his efforts to publish some of Mrabet's short stories in a collection. The letters also included planning a trip to Mecca together as well as a road trip across Northern Africa. Wolfe wrote about his trip to Mecca in
The Hadj: An American's Pilgrimage to Mecca (1998).1 item (1 p.)
1 item (2 p.)
1 item (1 p.)
1 item (1 p.)
1 item (1 p.)
Letter in Spanish from Basilio Baltasar, the editor of the magazine
Bitzoc Literatura . The letter acknowledged the receipt of the story "The Safe." Envelope included. Physical Description1 item (2 p.)
Envelope for a letter (not included) from Black Sparrow Press, which published several of Mrabet's works.
Physical Description1 item (1 p.)
A note from Nutting, an American photographer most known for her pictures of Paul Bowles.
Physical Description1 item (1 p.)
Mrabet asked de Hollanda, a translator and writer who worked as Mrabet's literary agent, to forward a letter to Paola Igliori, and requested the reviews she had sent to de Hollanda.
Physical Description1 item (1 p.)
Igliori, an editor for Inanout Press, outlined a collaboration with Philip Taafe for a publication of Mrabet's stories and Taafe's illustrations. Includes a post script in French.
Physical Description1 item (2 p.)
Note in French confirming Mrabet's employment with Bowles, most likely to a government agency.
Physical Description1 item (1 p.)
A letter in Spanish, discussing Jilala, a type of Moroccan music and Hopkins's experiences in Morocco.
Physical Description1 item (2 p.)
Letter from a correspondent identified only as "Bill" and his experience as an expatriate in Morocco.
Physical Description1 item (7 p.)
Reviews for Mrabet's works in English, Spanish, French, Arabic, and Dutch. Titles include
Love with a Few Hairs , M'Hashish , The Beach Café and the Voice , The Chest , and The Lemon . Some of the clippings are pasted onto scrapbook paper.Includes photocopies of dust jackets and one original dust jacket.
Physical Description8 items
An exhibition catalog detailing the inventory of "Paul Bowles at 80," an exhibition at the University of Delaware Library, which included some of Mrabet's works.