what to read before travelling to morocco

travel has always been creative bread and butter for the world’s artistic output, and no place has served as a wellspring of inspiration for artistic figures quite like morocco. tangier, in particular, was a real juncture for writers, artists, and dreamers. over the years, the city has seen the likes of edith wharton, jack kerouac, william s. burroughs, and mark twain pass through its centre. morocco’s homegrown writers too, have upheld a rich literary tradition, telling stories of identity, displacement, and home. ahead of our literary expedition to morocco with bri lee, we’ve compiled an essential reading list for the storied country.

the beautiful fall, alicia drake

whilst not strictly about morocco, alicia drake’s history of two of fashion’s greatest figures features incredible anecdotes of yves saint laurent’s love affair with the country. yves saint laurent and piere bergé first journeyed to morocco in 1966, purchasing their first home there not long after. the designer would travel there twice a year to source inspiration for his collections, and said of the city, “once I grew sensitive to light and colors, I especially noticed the light on colors … , on every street corner in marrakech, you encounter astonishingly vivid groups of men and women, which stand out in a blend of pink, blue, green, and purple caftans.”

Si Yussef, Anouar Majid

in anouar majid’s novella, lamin, a young university student, has a chance encounter with the elderly si yussef in a fez cafe. the pair continue to meet over the next twelve days, until youssef’s death, as the elder recounts the story of his life. told through the eyes of young lamin, the tangier-born author raises questions of identity, memory, loss, and home.

yves saint laurent place djemaa el fna, reginald grey

jardin majorelle, marrakech

naked lunch, william s. burroughs

beat poet william burroughs wrote naked lunch whilst visiting tangier. written through the eyes of junkie william lee, the novel reads as a series of vignettes of the city, able to be read in any which order. taken from burrough’s own experiences, the vignettes are drawn from his own observations of his travels, and his addiction to drugs.

conditional citizens: on belonging in america, laila lalami

in conditional citizens, moroccan-american writer laila lalami explores her own difficult journey from immigrant to us citizen. using her own experiences as a starting point, the pulitzer prize winner interrogates the rights, protections, and liberties afforded to american citizens and the road blocks faced by those born outside the west.

Their Heads are Green and Their Hands are Blue: Scenes from the Non-Christian World, paul bowles

a collection of eight essays, their heads are green and their hands are blue is written by author and composer paul nowles , one of morocco’s most famous western expats. traversing central america and various locations across the hindu, buddhist, and islamic worlds, bowles reflects on his extensive travels and throughout the east. morocco, where bowles died in 1973, serves as the focal point for the book, recording the writer’s attempt to understand and connect with traditions outside of his own.

local colour, truman capote

truman capote’s first non-fiction endeavour, local colour, is a collection of travel essays’s from the writer’s travels. featuring sketches, notes, and photographs, the series is divided into nine chapters - including one on capote’s time in tangier. capote spent his time in the city mingling with other famed artists, passing the days in the petit soko area and sketching colourful portraits of the characters he observed there.