Moroccan Poet wins 2020 Argana International Poetry Prize*

Moroccan poet, Mohamed Achaari, has won the 15th annual Argana International Poetry Prize for the year 2020. Achaari’s works “have contributed for more than four decades to the consecration of writing as resistance by widening the spaces of freedom in language and writing through a poetic practice placing freedom at the center of its interests,” Morocco’s House of Poetry said in a statement.

The poetry commission said Achaari’s poems have helped to free up spaces and language in Morocco in favor of “values and in the interest of life.”

The poet was born in 1951. He studied law and administration and held several positions in political and cultural journalism. His work includes several collections, including “Journal du feu et du voyage” (Journal of fire and travel), “Biographie de la pluie” (Biography of the rain), and “Le livre des fragments” (The book of fragments).

Morocco’s House of Poetry launched the award in partnership with the Capital Private Equity (CDG), and the Ministry of Culture. The award seeks to pay tribute to artists by recognizing their contributions to society.

Mohammed Achaari and Rajaa Alem, joint winners of the 2011 Arabic Booker Prize @wikimedia_commons