I came to poetry through the urgent need to denounce injustice, exploitation, humiliation. I know that's not enough to change the world. But to remain silent would have been a kind of intolerable complicity.

I write about wounds, the eternal treasons of life. It's not very funny, but it's sincere. My commitment is to sincerity.

I'd thought sexuality was instinctive or natural, but it's profoundly linked to inner security and cultural context.

The power of the word in Morocco belonged to men and to the authorities. No one asked the point of view of poor people or women.

I read a poem every night, as others read a prayer.

I don't feel guilty about expressing myself in French; nor do I feel that I am continuing the work of the colonizers.

I belong to a specific category of writers, those who speak and write in a language different from that of their parents.