Tunisie Plurielle: Vol. 1. Actes du Colloque de l'Universite de York, and: La transpoesie: Vol. 2. Actes du Colloque de l'Universite de York (review)

Tunisie Plurielle. Vol. 1 Actes du Colloque de l'Université de York. Ed. Hédi Bouraoui. Tunis: L'Or du Temps, 1997. 330 pp.

La transpoésie. Vol 2 Actes du Colloque de l'Université de York. Ed. Mansour M'Henni. Tu;nis: L'Or du Temps, 1997. 157 pp.

With his usual energetic creativity, Hédi Bouraoui has once more been able to produce two remarkable volumes on present-day Tunisia: the first one is the outcome of a conference he organized on the theme of Tunisia's pluralism, while the second is a collection of articles on his own poetry. The two volumes are linked through the problematic of transnational and plural identity and the matter of how the cultural diversity in such an approach can bridge the gaps and offer solutions to the region.

The first volume opens with a comprehensive introduction by Hédi Bouraoui who gives us a summary of the highlights of the conference. It follows with three sections: 1) creative texts by Memmi, Ghachem, and El-Houssi; 2) articles by Bouraoui on plurality and Frenchness; M'Henni on French in Tunisia; El Baz on the writing of the desert; Dugas on Memmi; Ivor Case on the esthetic in Memmi; Makward on plural reality in the autobiographical texts of Memmi; Stone McNeece on Meddeb; Maazaoui on Meddeb and Mellah; Jegham on Meddeb and El-Houssi; Redouane El-Houssi; Marx-Scouras on Hélé Beji; Garcia Casado on Béji; Miraglia on the problems of identiy in Emna Bel Hadj Yahia; Baccar on feminine image in Bournaz; Scharfman on memory and exile in Valensi; Rodinis on the theme of wandering in two Tunisian poets; Fontaine on Tunisian women's writing; Kummer on the image of women in Tunisian cinema; Triki on pictorial practice and Tunisianity; Chaker on women's work and structural changes in society; Jrad on the Tunisian woman's condition; Goldmann on the Jewish community and its impact on Westernization; Ayoun on Tunisian Jews and Bourguiba; and Triki on Islamism and Modernity in Tunisia; and 3) testimonies by Zinelabidine on Tunisian music and intertexuality, and Yétiv on the Jewish community, a personal experience.

The second volume is devoted to Bouraoui's poetry. It is introduced by Mansour M'Henni from the Humanities division of Sousse University. M'Henni pays homage to Bouraoui's creativity, his attachment to Tunisia and great respect for its culture. This introduction is followed by articles on the following topics in Bouraoui's work: the Other by Igonetti; African space by Nzabatsinda; multipoetry by Cloutier; incandescant poetry by Naudillon; grammatical poetry by Tcheho; figures of a multiple thinking by Ndiaye; poetic density of Bangkok Blues by Tcheho; radiance poetry by Bondu; the other side of writing by McNeece; the initiative quest by Naudillon; the memory novel by Elbaz; and lucidity of the prodigal son by Naudillon.

These two volumes constitute very good reference works on Tunisia in its multiplicity and present culture. It is a must for any student of literature and culture on Tunisia and North Africa in general.

Evelyne Accad

Evelyne Accad is a professor at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, in French, Comparative Literature, African Studies, Women Studies, Middle East Studies, and the Honors Program.

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