Amar Benhamouche is General Secretary of Association Apulivre. He lives in France and writes poems in French and Arabic language. His mother tongue is Kabylian.

Interviewed by: EVA Petropoulou Lianou | Greece

01] What does poetry mean to you?

Poetry is the forging of words. It lies between the real and the virtual and between the latent and the manifest. Poetry is a means of struggle and free expression. Poetry is cathartic, expressing the forbidden in a sublimated way.

02] At what age did you start to write poetry?

Since childhood, I had this dream of becoming a writer, an actor or a filmmaker but I never thought that one day I would write a poem.

The only thing that remains of those memories is that my father used to read his poems to us; my mother, my brothers and myself.

In 2015, I published my first play in my mother tongue (the kabylian language) which I entitled « Irus d Tanatus ».

As for my first poem, it was written in 2017 an answer to a friend’s request that I knew on the internet. Since then, I have been writing in Arabic, Kabylian and French.

03] What are you inspired by?

I was inspired by numerous sources. First of all, I was born in Kabylia, a resistant region to the Algerian regime, where people always speak about politics and culture raising awareness among their fellows, thanks to our committed singer-poets like Matoub Lounès, Ferhat Imazighen Imoula, Lounis Ait Menguellet and others.

It was a means of awareness among the crowd of citizens. Furthermore, I discovered the world of reading in Kabylian, Arabic and French. Then, I discovered poets like Mahmoud Darwich and other great figures of the world of poetry.

04] Are there times when you prefer to write?

I write all the time. I sometimes write at work, sometimes in public transportation or when I wake up in the morning, but my favorite and ideal time is late at night. This moment strengthens my inspiration. I’m usually accompanied by a cigarette and a glass of wine.

05] Can you tell us about the poetic festival organized by your association?

Founded in March 2021 and chaired by Hacene Lefki, our association « Apulivre » has invested in various activities and promising projects with the goal of promoting reading and book culture in general. Indeed, our association launched a poetry festival “La Tour Poétique” in 2022, which aims at promoting poetry in all its forms and in all languages, creating a meeting space for poets, building bridges of brotherhood between people and providing opportunities for poets to showcase their talents.

The three editions of the poetry festival “La Tour Poétique” organized by our association Apulivre, in 2022, 2023 and 2024, were golden opportunities to meet beautiful souls and beautiful writers from various horizons.

06] Can you tell us about your book?

The third edition of the poetry festival « La Tour Poétique », which took place from Thursday June 13 to Saturday June 15, 2024 at the « Maison de la Vie Associative et Citoyenne » in the 15th arrondissement of Paris, was special. Indeed, this edition was accompanied by the publication of a collective book entitled « Poetry: struggles and combats ». This beautiful project came to fruition, thanks to the participation of several authors and poets. This collective book was coordinated by myself as the general secretary of our association, prefaced by the Franco-Moroccan writer and poet Ms. Rachida BELKACEM and published by Milot editions.

07] Your wishes for the New Year?

I wish to see peace in our world. Long live poetry and long live culture!

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Eva Lianou Petropoulou is an awarded author and poet from Greece with more than 25 years in the literary field, having published more than 15 books. Her poems are translated in more than 20 languages. She is President of creativity and art of Mil Mentes Por Mexico Association, representing Greece; President of Global UHE Peru, Vice President of Cultural Association China, Mexico. She is also the Ambassador of Peace for The Global Nation newspaper Bangladesh; World Ambassador of International Academy of Ethics India.

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