Literary columnist to give talk on post-revolution Tunisian art

Hatem Bourial, a prominent Tunisian literary columnist and author of a number of books, will be at the University of Malta and at St. James Cavalier in the second week of May to talk about the momentous developments in Tunisia after the December 2010 revolution from the perspective of the arts, as well as his own writings and research.

The two public events in English that are being held on Wednesday 7 May and Friday 9 May 2014 at 6.30pm and are open to the general public and free of charge.

Hatem Bourial, a Tunisian cultural icon, is the author of nine books, a weekly columnist in the Tunisian French weekly Tunis-Hebdo, and a radio and television commentator. Over the years, he has worked for many Tunisian and international papers. He contributes to many independent news magazines and is a frequent commentator on Tunisia’s radio and television, discussing far-ranging topics from culture, to history and literature.

Bourial launched “Fouq Essour” in Tunis, an open space for cultures and literatures of the world, which is still very active today since it opened in 1982.

On Wednesday 7 May, at 6.30pm, he will be meeting with authors and those interested in literature for an exchange entitled, “From Tunisian to Maltese literature.” This will be held in the Faculty of Arts Library on the second floor of the Old Humanities Building.

He will be reflecting on the linguistic proximity between Tunisian and Maltese, and looking at the work of some authors from both shores, including a focus on Dun Karm’s journey to Tunisia.

On Friday 9 May, at 6.30pm, Hatem Bourial will talk about “Tunisia, the Arts and the Revolution” at the St. James Cavalier Centre for Creativity. He will discuss the ways the Arts interacted with the Revolution in Tunisia, and whether new patterns and trends have now emerged in Tunisian culture.

He will also examine to what extent authors and artists have evolved and gained new spaces of freedom and expression three years after the political change brought about by the Revolution.

Hatem Bourial will be the guest of the University of Malta’s School of Performing Arts and the Department of Maltese in the Faculty of Arts, in collaboration with St. James Cavalier. His visit is being coordinated by Prof. Vicki Ann Cremona, who first met Bourial in Tunisia before the Revolution, and Dr Adrian Grima.