Librairie des Colonnes
The tangerine cultural salon par excellence was founded in 1949 at 54 Boulevard Pasteur, in the heart of the city: Librairie des Colonnes. For over 60 years, the bookstore has emerged as a place of culture, open and free, after a dark period, at the end of 2010, it regained its full splendor and has become a major player in the city.
It was a place of meeting and knowledge, frequented by big names in literature: Samuel Beckett, Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote, Jean Genet, Paul Morand … Gallimard made it one of his counters, the Bowles their mailbox, Choukri his reading room, Tahar Ben Jelloun his library, and for all Tangerines and visitors passing by, it became a refuge of the spirit.
Whatever the news of the world, the Library of Columns has always been able to maintain a space of expression and freedom, through the consultation of the knowledge and its dissemination.
At the dawn of this century, however, the Columns seemed destined to share the fate of many other mythical libraries. It was Pierre Bergé, that bet on this humanist project in order to give it back its nobility. Its reopening in late 2010, precedes the inauguration of the Berber Museum of Marrakech, which is, together with the Majorelle Garden, the tribute of Pierre Bergé to his second homeland, Morocco.
Managed by Simon-Pierre Hamelin, founder of the magazine Nejma, the bookstore offered a collection of literature and essays in 4 languages (Arabic, French, English, Spanish).
From the outside the bookcase is presented in a different way than before: two beautiful columns lacquered red at the entrance invite readers to enter, along with the written in three languages ( bookshop , librairie , maktaba ) affixed on the windows. Inside, in an environment warmed by soft lighting and wood panels that give it a slightly vintage look, there are books of non-fiction, fiction, photography, for children, in Arabic, French, English, Spanish and even in Italian.
A large number of cultural events are organized, at the bookstore or in other exceptional places of the city. The Librairie des Colonnes is yearning for weaving the literary and cultural links between all the shores of the Mediterranean.
Editions in Librairie des Colonnes
Since 2011, the Librairie des Colonnes is also a publishing house. Just like the city, faithful to its history, it is naturally displaying eclecticism and multilingualism. The quality and nature of the published texts is in line with the commitments made by the library since its origins.
The magazine Nejma was born in the summer of 2006, from a desire to gather and highlight all artistic expressions existing in Tangier and more widely in Morocco and the Mediterranean.
It published its special issues devoted to Jean Genet, Paul Bowles and Mohamed Choukri, and its catalog gradually consists of general literature in Arabic, French or English, monographs and books of art and photographs concerning the Arab world and the Mediterranean area.
Throughout the issues, this unique journal has managed to bring together the most diverse genres and to coexist all languages, with no other concern than that of offering a real space for literary expression, beyond any frontier.
The first issue, assembled in a kitchen, wanted to show that there is no need for significant means to provide a space of artistic expression. The next proved that it was justified to publish in different languages and forms, confirmed authors alongside perfect anonymous persons.
Themes quickly imposed in so many variations on the border and monographs dedicated to Paul Bowles, Jean Genet or Mohamed Choukri, helped to highlight the literary territories of Morocco.
All languages and forms of expression coexist in order to breathe new life into Moroccan literary expression. And it responds to a need, a compelling need to restore Tangier’s centrality within the arts and culture, echoing contemporary creation.
In conclusion, the Librairie des Colonnes is not just a bookstore. It is a living museum, a still-vital cultural salon, and the enduring guardian of the literary spirit that makes Tangier a city of legends.
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