Poetry is not only a set of words which are chosen to relate to each other; it is something which goes much further than that to provide a glimpse of our vision of the world. Tahar Ben Jelloun More Quotes by Tahar Ben Jelloun More Quotes From Tahar Ben Jelloun At 21, I discovered repression and injustice. The army would shoot students with real bullets. Tahar Ben Jelloun bullets army real Emigration is no longer a solution; it's a defeat. People are risking death, drowning every day, but they're knocking on doors that are not open. Tahar Ben Jelloun idaho doors people In Morocco, it's possible to see the Atlantic and the Mediterranean at the same time. Tahar Ben Jelloun morocco People must insist on the right to say no, to be alone, to stand out from the herd. Creative artists can say all this in their own way and in their own field, by hard, rigorous work. Tahar Ben Jelloun creative artist people I belong to a specific category of writers, those who speak and write in a language different from that of their parents. Tahar Ben Jelloun different parent writing My characters are driven by a passionate desire for justice. They are rebellious and incorruptible. Tahar Ben Jelloun passionate-desire justice character In the 70s I was in exile; every time I went back I wondered if they'd take my passport away. Tahar Ben Jelloun passports exile ifs I am glad to have found a readership, but one can’t write only what is likely to sell. A writer is not a shopkeeper. A writer creates an imaginary world that he transmits to others. Tahar Ben Jelloun found writing world To lead a country, you must periodically hold a national consultation in which people representing different programmes can make a bid for power. Tahar Ben Jelloun different country people What have we achieved since the end of the Second World War? We have allowed petty, bourgeois regimes in which everything is average, mediocre. Tahar Ben Jelloun average war world It is impossible to disregard such an important medium as television. We should know how to use it, learn to work in it and express new values in it. Tahar Ben Jelloun important use television New ideas should confront old ideas. We must refer to the example of Europe. People have fought to make Europe what it is today. Freedom is not something that is served up on a plate. Tahar Ben Jelloun europe people ideas This universe can very well be expressed in words and syllables which are not those of one's mother tongue. Tahar Ben Jelloun tongue wells mother We do not have many intellectuals who can speak out for us internationally. We have no writers who are recognized, respected and loved outside the Arab world. Tahar Ben Jelloun speaks-out speak world I love life in spite of all that mars it. I love friendship, jokes and laughter. Tahar Ben Jelloun love-life laughter friendship I don't feel guilty about expressing myself in French; nor do I feel that I am continuing the work of the colonizers. Tahar Ben Jelloun guilty continuing feels I liked Sartre's views but not his writing. Tahar Ben Jelloun views writing An individual voice can be heard in a choir that otherwise sings in unison. This is something that is not excused. Tahar Ben Jelloun choir individual voice Egypt has suffered more ordeals than the other countries to get where it is. Tahar Ben Jelloun ordeals egypt country I am a Moroccan writer of French expression. Tahar Ben Jelloun expression