We must have our say, not through violence, aggression or fear. We must speak out calmly and forcefully. We shall only be able to enter the new world era if we agree to engage in dialogue with the other side.

I do not use the language of my people. I can take liberties with certain themes which the Arabic language would not allow me to take.

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.

Beauty is first and foremost an emotion.

We must stop posing as victims of the West and behaving negatively towards the West. We must participate with the West on an equal footing in the reconstruction of the world.

For me, poetry is a situation - a state of being, a way of facing life and facing history.

In Morocco, it's possible to see the Atlantic and the Mediterranean at the same time.