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

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

Poetry is not only a set of words which are chosen to relate to each other; it is something which goes much further than that to provide a glimpse of our vision of the world.

People must insist on the right to say no, to be alone, to stand out from the herd. Creative artists can say all this in their own way and in their own field, by hard, rigorous work.

I am glad to have found a readership, but one can’t write only what is likely to sell. A writer is not a shopkeeper. A writer creates an imaginary world that he transmits to others.

It is through accepting other people in our own countries that we shall come to respect our neighbours and be respected in our turn.