By Jamal Elabiad
Omar BIHMIDINE is the writer of a large number of poems, short stories, and articles.
A Moroccan Voice had recently the opportunity to ask him a number of questions about his story with writing. Shedding light on personal experiences and giving voice to the voiceless are the common denominators between Omar BIHMIDINE’s writings, particularly articles and short stories. More details on the writer are in the following interview.
A Moroccan Voice: Could you please introduce yourself to our readers? Omar BIHMIDINE: Well, my name is Omar BIHMIDINE. I am now twenty-four years old. I am originally from Tafraout, a southern Moroccan town, but I was born in Tangiers, and moved to my original town when I was six. I got my Baccalaureate at Atlas high school in 2006 and enrolled at university where I spent two years to get my first university degree (or DEUG). I became a junior high school teacher of English in 2008, and I am currently teaching in Zagora. My main interests are reading and writing. And my goal in this life is to become a poet and a writer.
A Moroccan Voice: 2007 was the year you started putting pen to paper. What is the story behind discovering the writer inside you? Omar BIHMIDINE: Exactly. I can say that 2007 was the year when I took my writing career seriously. Before, I used to write some childish pieces. And it was then when I became infatuated with writing. It has now become a passion for me. My story with writing dates back to the publication of my first piece in
The Casablanca Analyst, a Moroccan newspaper in English. Seeing it on paper spurred me to redouble my efforts to write more prolifically. As soon as I made the editor’s acquaintance, I began to write more and more pieces. As you yourself might have experienced, getting published and having one’s pieces appreciated by readers is one way of discovering a writer inside us. Frankly speaking, there are many stories behind discovering a writer inside me. The willingness to share and impart my own life experiences to the reader are amongst the most principal ones. I guess that this willingness is inherent in me. It is because I always feel that if I don’t write about certain aspects of my personal life, either negative or positive ones, I will not feel at ease. In this manner, my feelings are repressed. The only way for me to set them free is through writing. Having many of my poems and articles published in the newspaper afore-mentioned and also in the Souss Pens magazine has helped me discover more about my writing potentiality.
A Moroccan Voice: As you know, Tafrouat is the town where the great poet and novelist Mohamed Khair-Eddine was born. Did the writer and his works play any role in your starting to write? Omar BIHMIDINE: The Amazigh poet and writer Mohamed Khair-Eddine had been our neighbor in Tafraout before he left for France where he first became an immediate celebrity. Though I did not meet him personally, he was the first writer I was inspired by. Having read some pages in his greatest novels like Agadir and Life and Legend of Agoun'chich, the works that Jean Paul Sartre himself read and praised, I came to appreciate his writing style and how he was so critical of the Moroccan government. He was my inspiration as his 98-year-old father told me about him as a young writer and poet. Sharing the same original town, the same culture and the same mother tongue has encouraged me to try and become like him. One gets more inspired and affected by writers when you know the latter personally and when you have already been in contact with one of their relatives unlike when you just read their works.
A Moroccan Voice: Every writer has his/her own writing time. For example, some writers’ writing time is in the early morning. What about yours? Omar BIHMIDINE: You are right. Personally, I would prefer to write in the evening. Inspiration at this time is usually stronger for me. And at other times, I only spend my time proofreading my works.
A Moroccan Voice: The number of poems you have written so far is much bigger than that of articles and short stories. Is it because poetry is the genre that expresses your ideas and views best? Omar BIHMIDINE: It is true that the poems I have written so far outnumber the articles and stories. However, I can not say with certainty that it is the genre that best expresses my views and ideas. Like prose, poetry for me is another medium of conveying my ideas, notions, and themes on everyday issues to the reader. That I write poems more frequently is due to the nature of this genre. Compared to stories and articles, poetry is a more condensed genre. That is, it is composed of a few verses. Each verse supports the general theme of a poem. This condensation is of course of great help to me and to readers as well. Through poems, one can express his or her ideas by using so few words. And readers can read and understand them at one setting unlike short stories or articles. To be frank, I rarely pay attention to the fact that I write more poems than articles or stories. Here, I would like to add that it all depends on the nature of the topic I want to write on. Sometimes, poems are much better with certain topics like nature, something literary, while at other times articles are more effective when it comes to academic and current issues like educational ones, etc. Also, stories are more effective when describing someone’s life.
A Moroccan Voice: How do you explain the overuse of the first person singular in many of you articles and short stories? Omar BIHMIDINE: Many people have already asked me the same question, and I think that you are here partly touching on my objective behind that. Personally, I chose to write a lot about my life experiences, my own views, ideas, attitudes, and perceptions in life and there is nothing better than to make use of the first personal subject “I”. The latter makes my pieces more auto-biographical. And people get to know me more this way. This is one of the main pursuits behind my writing career. Of course, there might be some people who don’t like too many “I”s all the time. For me, while reading some works by many well-recognized authors, I find that many of them do the same. And you know that Sartre in “Words” and Mohamed Choukri in “For Bread Alone” overused the ‘I’. It’s true that these are autobiographies. Poems, articles and short stories too are merely other forms of autobiography for me. I am afraid that some people may mistake this ‘I’ for being a narcissus. Here, I would like to draw readers’ attention that if anyone peruses any of my works, he or she will find that negative attributes about me always outweigh positive ones. Such is life! I dare say that anyone goes through the same experience. Who doesn’t? Frankly speaking, I do not take any delight whatsoever in writing on things like global warming and pollution, etc where other subject pronouns are used. In a nutshell, as the saying goes, a trouble shared is a trouble halved. Using ‘I’ in all my works is simply a way of alleviating my daily troubles, and I hope I’ll find more committed readers who will show such interest in what I write on.
A Moroccan Voice: I know many writers who stopped writing as soon as they managed to write about all their life experiences and troubles. Will you do the same?Omar BIHMIDINE: Actually, I do not intend to do the same. I have so far written about some of my life experiences, and I think I still need to write more on them in the years to come. You very well know that writing is a life-long process. I have also made up my mind to continue writing for the rest of my life. Sometimes, I stop writing about my daily experiences with people. In this case, I move on to write about the lives of others. I am sure you have already seen that. However, I will always do my utmost to remain inspired when it comes to writing. And I assure you that I will never stop writing.
A Moroccan Voice: Poverty is the common denominator between most of your characters.Think of Yuba, Youssef, Hicham, Laila, and Yassine. The question I want to ask here is why most of your characters belong to the poor class? Omar BIHMIDINE: That’s true. Yuba, Youssef, Hicham, Laila, and Yassine are amongst my characters who are victims of poverty. Well, realism as a literary technique has taught me to talk about the category of the poor, the hapless, the sick, the deaf, the lame, the dead, failure, despair, dismay, etc. It’s simply because I am fond of realism that I have written about people belonging to one of these classes. So, it is only a matter of realism. I only describe how most people lead their lives, and you know that most of them belong to the poor class.
A Moroccan Voice: “This is the beggar who reminded of Mohamed Choukri, one of my ideal authors, ” This is the sentence with which you concluded one of your pieces entitled “ The beggar Who Reminded Me of Mohamed Choukri” In what sense is Mohamed Choukri one of your “ideal” authors?
Omar BIHMIDINE: Mohamed Choukri is one of my ideal authors. That is to say, I appreciate all his works, ranging from short stories to novels, especially the auto-biographical novel, “For Bread Alone”. I must admit that I find myself in many everyday events he related in the latter novel, especially about family problems and the cruelty of the father. “Ideal” for me means respect, awe, appreciation, passion. I always stand in awe while burying my head in any of his works. They are really unputdownable. You know that rarely do we read auto-biographical works in which the auto-biographer reveals secrets, shameful facts, ignominious deeds, faults and more importantly complexes about himself or herself. To my knowledge, Choukri has been the only Moroccan author who has so far done so. Here comes the main reason why he is my ideal author. Amongst other reasons is when he learned to read and write at age 21. I frankly went speechless when I heard of this. He overcame illiteracy, a common stumbling block then. The fact that he became an author late in his life is also a reason why he is my ideal. When I talk about him as my ideal author, I don’t necessarily mean I praise his own personal life with people or his crimes, smuggling, etc. Never! It is his unusually strong determination to overcome all obstacles to become an author and also his sheer frankness in relating all his past experiences that made me deem him an ideal author for me.
A Moroccan Voice: You wrote in “The Dream that Has not yet Come True” that soon after you were appointed to work in Zagora as a middle school teacher of English, you discovered that the city is an “unprecedented source of inspiration for you.” Does this mean you are planning to settle in Zagora? Omar BIHMIDINE: Well, it is true that Zagora is an unprecedented source of inspiration for me, the thing that I didn’t know before. However, this does not necessarily mean that I am planning to settle here. I just wanted to say that I was disillusioned when I was first appointed here. I had thought that Zagora would be at the expense of my writing pursuit. But, soon after writing so many pieces, I found out that the opposite was the case. The serenity, peace, calm landscapes, awe-inspiring scenery, sand dunes and more importantly welcoming people that characterize Zagora have been of great help, and of note, to me as a writer. And bear in mind that I don’t think of settling here, though. On the contrary, I am planning to move somewhere else like the north the soonest possible.
A Moroccan Voice: Are writers born or made? Writers and researchers have been divided over such a question. Would you share your answer to this question with us? Omar BIHMIDINE: As far as I am concerned, I always stress that writers are made, not born. At birth, all of us are endowed with a talent. And it all depends on what you make of yourself later on. Some make of themselves politicians, leaders, businessmen, shopkeepers, etc., while others choose to make of themselves teachers, writers, poets, playwrights, etc. Here, I would like to refer to one very important factor that distinguishes people from each other. It is the life experiences we go through every day. In this case, I would like to quote Simon de Bouvoire, a French philosopher, as saying that a genius is not born; it is rather made. This can also be true of a writer or any other occupation. I am afraid that I don’t agree with those who say that writers are born. This issue is so tricky. I still remember when I read about Goerge Orwell’s attempts at writing. He said that he was outraging his nature when he did not enjoy other jobs like a police officer or a vicar. He then made up his mind to become a writer. Therefore, I personally believe that every writer is made, and so am I. Of course, there are some writers who find it less difficult than others to write, and this can be ascribed to some ulterior motives like an inborn talent. Here, I do not think that writers are “wholly” born, but rather made.
A Moroccan Voice: The Precise Word is the title you gave to your blog. Briefly, what does this title mean? Omar BIHMIDINE: My choice of this title came from ‘le mot juste’ by Gustave Flaubert. It simply means that every writer must use precise and right words to best convey his thoughts and ideas to the reader. That’s why I liked to give my blog that name.
A Moroccan Voice: Most of your works have been posted on Facebook and your blog. Aren’t you thinking of publishing a collection of poems or short stories in order to gain more readers, particularly readers who do not have access to the Internet or do not know how to use it? Omar BIHMIDINE: I have considered publishing my works many times. I was once encouraged by a university teacher to do so by promising me that he would stand by me. But unfortunately I haven’t heard anything from him ever since. I then gave up the idea. Frankly, I don’t know how to do that myself. I guess there must be too much paperwork and expenditure so as to publish them successfully. But I assure I will sooner or later do that. I am simply seeking the opportunity. Of course, I am thinking of that as it’s the best way to gain more readers.
A Moroccan Voice: As you said before, some of your works were published in The Casablanca Analyst. It’s regrettable that the newspaper is no longer alive. For you, what are the real reasons behind the death of the sole Moroccan newspaper in English? And were not you negatively affected by the newspaper’s death?
Omar BIHMIDINE: For me, I may attribute the ‘death’ of
The Casablanca Analyst mainly to the remarkable decline of readership, especially in English. You very well know that we can not expect a newspaper like this one to sell regularly at the newsagent’s. I expected its death before. Moroccan people don’t even read in Arabic and French, let alone in English. Also, funding is another reason. It’s so hard to publish issues regularly when one doesn’t financially gain anything from it. This is the case with this Moroccan newspaper. As the editor once said to me, lack of writers and proofreaders of English has also negatively affected the reputation of the newspaper. You can see that one page contains all the works of one writer. This is too redundant. I must admit that I was so negatively affected by the death of this newspaper to the extent that I stopped writing for a while until I opened a blog of my own. I have no other choice but to look for another publishing newspaper or magazine.
A Moroccan Voice: Are you still in touch with Mohamed Oujetti, The Casablanca Analyst editor?
Omar BIHMIDINE: It is three months now that I haven’t been in touch with him.
A Moroccan Voice: Is there anything you want to add at the end of this interview?I would like to add that I am at present doing my utmost to realize my dream, that of becoming an author and a poet. Also, I am currently looking for some English-language magazines and newspapers where I think I will resume publishing. More importantly, I hope I will find some more budding writers and experienced ones with whom I can share my writing and life experiences. Committed readers are also of paramount importance to me as they inspire me with their constructive feedback and their keen interest in my works, especially those who find themselves in the articles, stories and poems that I occasionally write. And bear in mind that no matter how hard I have worked in the domain of writing and publishing, I feel that I still need to redouble my efforts to achieve the best I can in the near future. Many thanks are due to
A Moroccan Voice for taking the initiative to conduct an interview with me.
