Christa Jones is a journalist for a major newswire service in Zurich, Switzerland. She holds a Ph.D. in French Language and Literature from Washington University. Her dissertation and recent publications focus on the topic of exile, nomadism, and identity in Maghrebian francophone women writers, in particular the works of Assia Djebar, Leïla Sebbar, and Malika Mokeddem.
“What is theoretically innovative, and politically crucial, is the need to think beyond narratives of originary and initial subjectivities and to focus on those moments or processes that are produced in the articulation of cultural differences. These in between spaces provide the terrain for elaborating strategies of selfhood – singular or communal that initiate new signs of identity, and innovative signs of collaboration, and contestation, in the act of defining the idea of society itself.” (Bhabha Culture 1-2)
Nine-year-old Jallal is old enough to know that his life in Algeria is precarious at best -- friends are as likely to kill you as save you. Having run away from home, he lives by selling peanuts and single cigarettes on the street.
Kathleen Woolrich is a freelance writer and a lover of Algeria. Many books of her poetry have appeared through Lulu and her book Dearest Algeria is available through many online bookstores like Amazon and Barnes & Noble. She is also and particularly an active member of our editorial staff.