“‘ever’where . . . wherever you look’”: The Influence of John Steinbeck on Algerian Culture

Abstract:This article explores John Steinbeck’s positive impact on Algerian culture, apparent from frequent references to his work in literary, academic, journalistic, and popular publications in Algeria. For example, The Pearl (1947) was integrated into the national Algerian school curriculum in the 1990s when an excerpt from the novella was included in a French-language textbook for seventh-grade students. In addition, stylistic and thematic echoes of Steinbeck’s works can be discerned in modern Algerian literature. One notable instance of this is Mohamed Dib’s 1954 novel L’incendie (French for “The Fire”), modeled on The Grapes of Wrath (1939). And not infrequently, Algerian newspapers dedicate space to issues related to Steinbeck’s work, such as Fayçal Métaoui’s article on the Algerian martyr Ahmed Zabana’s impressions of Viva Zapata! (1952). But perhaps the most impressive evidence of Steinbeck’s influence on Algerian culture to date remains Arezki Boudif’s translations of The Pearl, Of Mice and Men (1937), and The Grapes of Wrath into Tamazight, a Berber language spoken by the Kabyle people in the north and northeast regions of Algeria.