Paol Keineg published Abalamour this past May. Abalamour: in the Breton language it means “because”, but when you say it in French, you hear the phrase à bas l’amour—down with love. When I tried to press Paol on the purpose... Continue reading

Last week I was wandering around the giant warehouse of a bookstore on the rue de Rennes called the FNAC, and in a fit of nostalgia I found myself face- to-face with the “Literary Criticism” section. It was a sad... Continue reading

François Hollande was calm and presidential on French television yesterday. Speaking of his function rather than his person, he suggested that the President of the Republic must soothe, conciliate, and compromise. In a world where denial is the common currency,... Continue reading

A Moroccan dog and an Algerian dog meet up at the Paris airport. The Moroccan dog says to the Algerian dog, “So why are you going to Morocco?” The Algerian dog says: “To eat.” The Algerian dog says to the... Continue reading

In Brief (but not so brief....) On Thursday the newspaper announced that a new law would allow people to take paying guests in their homes. Will tourism be born again? There are cash machines in Algiers, but no one takes... Continue reading

After my lecture at the Glycines, a university professor talked about what Camus means to Algerians today. What she said may have been familiar to everyone in the room, but it was completely new to me: “It’s true that Camus... Continue reading

Am writing from my room in the Glycines study center, where the sound of honking cars and screaming people is keeping me awake at 2 am. Tomorrow, if all goes according to plan, the fronds on the several miles of... Continue reading