Reflections on books and small publishers in and around the contemporary Algerian novel: lessons for collecting
- Event type
- Seminar
- Series
- Book & Print Initiative
- Address
- Online- via Zoom
- Event dates
- Contact
- sas.events@sas.ac.uk Email only
Book and Print Initiative Seminar - Reflections on books and small publishers in and around the contemporary Algerian novel: lessons for collecting
Dr Joseph Ford (Institute of Languages, Cultures and Societies, School of Advanced Study)
Senate House library has recently engaged in the process of acquiring the literature catalogue of the small Algerian publisher, Éditons Barzakh - a fledgling publishing company founded in the wake of the Algerian civil conflict of the 1990s. The publisher gives space for a more experimental, grounded and multilingual form of literary expression, with many of their books published in French (not an official language in Algeria, but one that many writers and journalists still use alongside the local vernacular Algerian Arabic).
Senate House library has recently engaged in the process of acquiring the literature catalogue of the small Algerian publisher, Éditons Barzakh - a fledgling publishing company founded in the wake of the Algerian civil conflict of the 1990s. The publisher gives space for a more experimental, grounded and multilingual form of literary expression, with many of their books published in French (not an official language in Algeria, but one that many writers and journalists still use alongside the local vernacular Algerian Arabic). In this paper, I explore how one of their young Algerian writers, Kaouther Adimi (b 1986), uses a historical novel about a small publisher to comment on the broader dynamics of writing and publishing books from contemporary Algeria. In so doing, I try to extrapolate some lessons for our own collecting practices and how these might help or hinder the mission of a small publisher like Éditons Barzakh.
The Book & Print Initiative was founded in 2017 to bring together scholars of books, printed material, and printing, at all career stages, across the School of Advanced Study (SAS).
FREE VIA ZOOM WITH ADVANCE BOOKING.
Joining details will be emailed on completion of the booking form.
