Shukri, Muhammad

▪ 2004

Mohammed Choukri 

      Moroccan writer (b. July 15, 1935, Beni Chikar, Mor.—d. Nov. 15, 2003, Tangier, Mor.), was known for his autobiographical writings and for his friendships with other writers in Morocco. By Shukri's own account, his father sold him as a boy to a hashish addict. Shukri ran away from home and made a living by engaging in petty crime and by working at menial jobs. He did not learn to read and write until he started school at age 20. Shukri's first short story, “Al-unf ala al-shatiʾ” (“Violence on the Beach”), was published in 1966. His major work, Al-khubz al-hafi, was translated by Paul Bowles as For Bread Alone and was published first in English in 1973. The memoir, which matter-of-factly describes his youth, was translated into many languages but was not published in Arabic until 1982 and was banned in Morocco until 2001. Jean Genet in Tangier (1974) and Tennessee Williams in Tangier (1979) record Shukri's friendships with those writers; he also wrote other autobiographical works, a play, and collections of short stories.

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