Feasts of Exile with Malek Alloula

The “literary and culinary feast” with Algerian writer Malek Alloula shows how fundamental pleasure and hospitality is to Arabic-Berber culture, yet isn’t solely about enjoying food, but about the “pleasure of the text."

The taste and smell of familiar food awakens in the Parisian exile a wide array of memories. He engages in philosophical essayistic reflections around the act of eating- his family recipes provide for a savoring of sensory delights at a large table filled with Arroz bel djej (saffron rice with chicken) and Seffa (Sweet Couscous). Malek Alloula, (b.1937) in Oran is author of the recently published collection "Le cri de Tarzan," a book of poetry entitled "Approchant du Senil" and "Le Harem Oriental”. He is the director of a foundation in honor of his brother, Abdelkader Alloula, dramaturg, who was killed by Islamists in 1994.

Moderator: Regina Keil

In cooperation with the ILB - 9 International Literature Festival Berlin .

In the series Word Worlds writers come 'to word' from all over the world to converse with Berlin audiences on topics ranging from poetry, the spoken word, through to novels and journalistic writing.