Mohammed Dib and America: “America is something else”

Abstract

 Throughout his life, Mohammed Dib was in contact with American culture, engaging closely with its literature. This interest prevailed for a long time: the article he published in 1948 in an Algerian magazine already showed Dib’s great knowledge of the writers across the Atlantic. Over time his knowledge became deeper and more intimate, particularly since his stay in California in the summer of 1974. This direct experience of the reality of the United States nourished Dib’s later works and allowed him to renew his poetics and his conception of writing. This article explains the connections between Dib's work and his unique representations of American referents.