
The Last Storytellers: Tales from the Heart of Morocco (Hardback)
Richard Hamilton (author), Barnaby Rogerson (foreword)
£19.99
Hardback
256 Pages
Published: 26/05/2011
Published: 26/05/2011
Marrakech is the heart and lifeblood of Morocco's ancient storytelling tradition. For nearly a thousand years, storytellers have gathered in the Jemaa el Fna, the legendary square of the city, to recount ancient folktales and fables to rapt audiences. But this unique chain of oral tradition that has passed seamlessly from generation to generation is teetering on the brink of extinction. The competing distractions of television, movies and the internet have drawn the crowds away from the storytellers and few have the desire to learn the stories and continue their legacy. Richard Hamilton has witnessed at first hand the death throes of this rich and captivating tradition and, in the labyrinth of the Marrakech medina, has tracked down the last few remaining storytellers, recording stories that are replete with the mysteries and beauty of the Maghreb.
Publisher: I.B.Tauris & Co. Ltd.
ISBN: 9781848854918
Number of pages: 256
Weight: 499 g
Dimensions: 234 x 156 x 25 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
"'The Last Storytellers succeeds brilliantly in delving down through the endless overlapping layers of Marrakech life, to reveal the extraordinary underbelly, an ancient cultural bedrock built on stories and storytelling. Through a shrewd perception of a society that can seem nothing less than baffling to the Occidental mind, Richard Hamilton has triumphed where many before him have failed.' - Tahir Shah, author of The Caliph's House and In Arabian Nights 'This is a wonderfully vivid and striking collection of stories which I heartily recommend.' - Fergal Keane"
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