Abdellatif Laâbi is a Moroccan poet, journalist, novelist, playwright, translator and political activist, born in 1942 in Fes, Morocco. Laâbi, then teaching French, founded with other poets the artistic journal Souffles, an important literary review in 1966. It was considered as a meeting point of some poets who felt the emergency of a poetic stand and revival, but which, very quickly, crystallized all Moroccan creative energies: painters, film-makers, men of theatre, researchers and thinkers. It was banned in 1972, but throughout its short life, it opened up to cultures from other countries of the Maghreb and those of the Third World. Abdellatif Laâbi was imprisoned, tortured and sentenced to ten years in prison for "crimes of opinion" (for his political beliefs and his writings) and served a sentence from 1972–1980. He was, in 1985, forced into exile in France. The political beliefs that were judged criminal are reflected in the following comment, for example: "Everything which the Arab reality offers that is generous, open and creative is crushed by regimes whose only anxiety is to perpetuate their own power and self-serving interest. And what is often worse is to see that the West remains insensitive to the daily tragedy while at the same time accommodating, not to say supporting, the ruling classes who strangle the free will and aspirations of their people." Awards and honors In 1985, Laabi was made Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres In 1999, he won the Fonlon-Nichols Award In 2006, he received the Alain Bosquet Prize, for all of his work In 2008, Laabi won the Naim Frashëri Prize In 2008, he was awarded the Robert Ganzo Prize of Poetry In 2009, he received the Prix Goncourt de la Poésie In 2011, he won the Benjamin Fondane International Prize for Francophone Literature In 2011, he was awarded Academie française’s Grand prix de la francophonie In 2015, he won the Prix Ecritures & Spiritualités In 2020, he was awarded the Mahmoud Darwish Award for Culture and Creativity In 2021, Laabi won the Roger Kowalski Award for Poetry, for his collection, Presque riens Works Each year for a first edition links to its corresponding "[year] in poetry" article for poetry or "[year] in literature" article for other works: Poetry 1980: Le Règne de barbarie. Seuil, Paris (épuisé) 1980: Histoire des sept crucifiés de l'espoir. La Table rase, Paris 1981: Sous le bâillon le poème.