The cultural landscape of Morocco and the Arab world has lost one of its most prominent figures with the passing of writer, poet, critic, and university professor Dr. Mohamed Serghini. His remarkable journey spanned decades, significantly contributing to the evolution of modern Moroccan poetry, shaping its unique characteristics while developing the tools for its critique and appreciation. The Moroccan Ministry of Culture announced his death, extending condolences to his family and the national cultural and artistic community. His departure has brought renewed attention to a figure synonymous with poetic renewal in Morocco since the 1960s, blending poetic experience with academic inquiry, while embracing both heritage and contemporary intellectual and artistic movements.
A Literary Titan from Fez
Born in Fez in 1930, a city that played a crucial role in his cultural and spiritual formation, Mohamed Serghini's early education took place at the esteemed Al Quaraouiyine University. He later moved to Iraq to study at Baghdad University, furthering his academic journey in both Morocco and France. He earned a degree in comparative literature from Mohammed V University in Rabat in 1963, followed by a third-cycle doctorate in 1970, and a state doctorate in 1985. Following his academic career, he became associated with the Faculty of Arts and Humanities in Fez, where he served as a university professor and contributed to the formation of generations of students and researchers. He also held the position of vice-dean of the faculty for several years during his academic tenure. His academic presence was intertwined with his literary project, as he viewed the university as a space for research, teaching, and engagement with modern critical and intellectual currents, with poetry remaining at the heart of his knowledge and creativity.
A Pioneer of Modern Moroccan Poetry
Serghini is regarded as one of the prominent poets of the 1960s generation in Morocco, alongside notable figures such as Ahmed Al-Majati, Mohamed Al-Khamar Al-Kanouni, and Abdul Karim Al-Tabbal, who collectively advanced Moroccan poetry from its foundational phase into new realms of experimentation and modernity. However, Serghini's modernity was not merely a superficial transition from traditional poetry to free verse or verse with rhythm; it was tied to a more intricate poetic project that sought to expand the relationship between poetry, knowledge, philosophy, Sufism, heritage, and the arts. Studies of his work indicate that he engaged with multiple sources, from classical and modern Arabic poetry to French and global poetry, and from Sufism to various philosophical and artistic movements, all of which deeply influenced his poetic language, symbolic structure, and image construction. His name is often associated with what some scholars have termed the 'knowledgeable poem', one that transcends simple emotional expression and draws upon a vast reservoir of knowledge, invoking history, philosophy, mythology, Sufism, and diverse cultural forms.
One of the most striking characteristics of Serghini's poetic experience was its ambiguity, density, and symbolism. He approached poetry not as a text that must be easily digestible but as an adventure in reading itself, which has made his work a subject of extensive critical interest, while also exposing it to interpretations that suggest an excessive use of symbols and ambiguity may create a distance between the text and the reader. Critics have noted him as a key figure in establishing the aesthetics of ambiguity in Moroccan poetry, a poet who made continuous experimentation a fundamental aspect of his creative identity. In an interview, Serghini remarked that a poet does not always choose the moment of writing, and that the creative process is connected to others, reading, and rewriting, revealing his view of poetry as an open experience rather than a closed linguistic construction.
The narrative of Serghini's life reflects a remarkable interplay between traditional education and modern academic training. Al Quaraouiyine represented his initial foray into a rich Arab and Islamic knowledge space, while his studies in Baghdad, Rabat, and Paris introduced him to various academic environments, culminating in his experience at the Sorbonne. This diversity in educational backgrounds contributed to the formation of his cultural identity, merging tradition with modernity, and intertwining Arab culture with an openness to Western literature and modern critical theories. This might explain the strong presence of Sufi heritage in his work, alongside his engagement with modern philosophical and literary movements. Studies suggest he was influenced by Sufism and figures such as Al-Hallaj, Ibn Arabi, Rumi, and Ibn Sab'in, while remaining open to various intellectual, literary, and artistic currents.
Serghini's impact extended beyond his poetic production. He left a significant mark on Moroccan academia through his teaching, training, and academic supervision, viewing poetry and critique as integral to a broader cultural project. His students described him as embodying the roles of professor, critic, and poet, with his lessons opening up new methodologies in reading poetic discourse, including linguistic, psychological, and semiotic approaches. This aspect is crucial to understanding his influence; Serghini did not merely write poetry; he participated in building the academic environment that would foster new generations of researchers, writers, and critics. Sources indicate that he worked as an assistant professor, then as a lecturer, and finally as a professor of higher education at the Faculty of Arts in Fez, also serving as vice-dean from 1968 to 1991.
One of the concepts associated with the reading of Serghini's experience is what can be termed cultural poetic writing. For him, the text is inseparable from knowledge, as the poet does not only evoke his personal experience but enters into dialogue with multiple layers of intellectual and symbolic accumulation. Consequently, his poems, in many critical readings, appear laden with references and symbols, requiring a reader equipped with cultural keys to unlock them. Critics have described his work as embodying 'the thesis poem', a writing endeavor that seeks to interrogate events, elucidate the unsaid, and unravel the frameworks governing mental, mythical, and social structures. Thus, for Serghini, poetry was not a linguistic luxury but a means of contemplating humanity, the world, and existence.
Serghini's legacy includes numerous poetry collections that marked his journey, such as "And So Shall the Burning of His Names Occur" published in 1987, "Seas of Mount Qaf" in 1991, "The Substantial Being" in 1992, and "Who Did This to Your Skulls" in 1994. These titles reflect the nature of his poetic world; they open onto myth, symbol, history, and existential questions, offering the reader no single, ready-made meaning. Serghini viewed poetry as a space for reconstructing the relationship between language and the world, which enabled his experience to evolve continuously, never settling into a single form.
Alongside poetry, Serghini was actively engaged in literary criticism and research, especially in the reading of poetic discourse. Researchers familiar with his teachings noted his openness to modern critical methodologies, particularly semiology and approaches that allow for dismantling the internal structure of poetic texts. Thus, it is challenging to separate Serghini the poet from Serghini the critic; the two projects seem intertwined, one producing the text, the other investigating its production and interpretation mechanisms. This duality set him apart from a poet who only writes poems or an academic who engages with literature purely as a research subject. Serghini wrote poetry, read poetry, and taught poetry, making his experience extend from the page to the university classroom and to the generations that studied under him.
It is difficult to separate Serghini's experience from Fez. The city of his birth formed a part of his cultural memory, rich with the heritage of Al Quaraouiyine, Sufism, the Arabic language, and a profound historical depth. In his work, traditional Fez coexists with poetic modernity, with Sufi heritage in constant dialogue with contemporary questions. Some writings have described him as "modernist in the guise of a Sufi", highlighting the interplay between poetic renewal and Sufi references that marked an essential aspect of his experience. This relationship with heritage was not a mere return to the past but an attempt to recontextualize it within modern poetry.
His passing does not signify the end of a literary presence that spanned over six decades. His legacy is dispersed across his collections, studies, research, university lessons, and the writers and critics who were influenced by him, alongside his role in the history of modern Moroccan poetry. Academic studies have deemed him one of the voices that transformed the modern poetic consciousness in Morocco, employing new knowledge tools to engage with poetry and develop writing methods and techniques. Furthermore, his position within the pioneering generation situates him as part of a pivotal phase in the history of Moroccan literature—one that transitioned Moroccan poetry from seeking to establish its presence to constructing a modern project with its own uniqueness and inquiries.
The official obituary from the Moroccan Ministry of Culture affirmed the late poet's significance, with the minister expressing "deep sorrow and grief" over his passing, describing him as one of the most prominent intellectual and literary figures in Morocco and the Arab world, extending condolences to his family and the national artistic and cultural community. This official mourning comes at a moment when one of the key symbols of a literary generation that laid the foundations for Moroccan poetic modernity has departed. However, Serghini's importance is not confined to obituary statements; the trajectory he left behind invites a reflection on the very questions of Moroccan poetry itself: how did poetry transition from tradition to modernity? How has it managed to blend heritage with openness to the world? And what are the boundaries of the relationship between poetry and knowledge?
The best way to revisit the experience of Mohamed Serghini might be to view him not merely as a poet of the 1960s generation but as an ongoing project of poetic inquiry and exploration.
As reported by arabi21.com.
