1927 - 1978
Algerian novelist, poet, and journalist.
Malek Haddad was born in Constantine and later attended the University of Aix-en-Provence in France. After working as a journalist, he began a literary career that merited inclusion in the distinguished "Generation of 1954" (with Mohammed Dib, Yacine Kateb, Moulaoud Mammeri, and Mouloud Feraoun). Themes of exile and engagement characterized his works. He wrote four novels (La dernière impression, 1958; Je t'offrirai une gazelle, 1959; L'elève et la leçon, 1960; Le quai aux fleurs ne répond plus, 1961) and published two collections of poetry (Le malheur en danger, 1956; Ecoute et je t'appelle, 1961). He regretted his inability to compose in Arabic and reflected: "The French language is my exile." During the war of independence, he served on diplomatic missions for the Front de Libération Nationale (FLN; National Liberation Front). He edited the newspaper, al-Nasr in Constantine from 1965 to 1968 and became secretary of the reorganized Union of Algerian Writers in 1974.
— PHILLIP C. NAYLOR
