Praise for the Youngest Storyteller in the Arab World: Aya Hamdoun… A Rising Literary Talent
In a cultural context rich with symbolism and deep social meanings, the Abdul Hadi Boutaleb Hall at the Hassan II Mosque Foundation in Casablanca hosted a literary event last Saturday that embodied the spirit of early creativity and solidified childhood’s role as a key player in the contemporary cultural scene. The event featured the presentation and signing of the first story collection by the talented Moroccan girl, Aya Hamdoun, who chose a poetically laden title for her literary debut: “Iris and the Child of the Sun.”
This cultural appointment, managed by media personality Souad Azaitraoui, was marked by the significant presence of a group of prominent figures from literary, critical, and media circles, who enriched the gathering with insights that approached the work from multiple angles, merging literature with psychology and the sociology of childhood. This added a notable intellectual depth and cultural dimension to the evening, with contributions from writer and journalist Abdul Aziz Koukass, short story writer Anis Al-Rafii, writer Abdul Rahman Boutaleb, writer Karima Hanin, alongside writer and visual artist Lababa Al-Alij, and poet and visual artist Hanaa Miko, representing the Moroccan and African Writers Association.
The event, which aimed to recognize and motivate emerging talents, was initiated by the Arabic Visions Magazine for Creativity and Critique, in partnership with the Hassan II Mosque Foundation, the Moroccan Reading Network, and the Moroccan and African Writers Association. The gathering also witnessed the attendance of members of the young author’s family, prominently including her mother, Mrs. Habiba Mghis, who serves as her primary supporter and anchor in her creative journey. The evening reflected the concept of “nurturing creativity” as a fundamental pillar in building generations capable of free expression and active integration into the national and Arab cultural scene.
In this context, poet Karima Hanin delivered a celebratory speech on behalf of the Moroccan and African Writers Association, followed by a moment of symbolic significance wherein writer and visual artist Lababa Al-Alij presented the young Aya Hamdoun with a membership card, on behalf of the association’s president, Mrs. Badia Al-Radi, along with a meaningful and eloquent artwork that embodies a bright future vision for Morocco, featuring an inspiring poem composed by Lababa Al-Alij inspired by this occasion. The poem reads:
“Aya…
Your pen is a golden thread.
Between your heart and the world.
A window to the unseen.
Never listen to those who doubt the stars.
You have a star in your hand.
Be free.
Be your true self.
Be the one you are searching for.
For the words you plant know in advance where they will bloom.”
Through this evocative dedication, Lababa Al-Alij emphasized that creativity is not measured by age boundaries but only requires a nurturing environment and faith in the child’s abilities and dreams, integrating them as intellectual and aesthetic actors in a cultural project that listens to the voice of innocence just as it listens to the voice of experience. In this context, Al-Alij stated: “May this cultural initiative, which begins in Casablanca, herald the birth of a new sun in the sky of Arabic literature, authored by children who have chosen to write their own stories instead of merely listening to others’ tales.”
She added: “Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s famous saying, ‘Turn your life into a dream, and your dream into reality,’ transforms existence into a project of beauty and transcendence, a continuous invitation to surpass the ordinary and plant seeds of imagination in the soil of reality, so that the utopia does not remain just a mirage, but rather becomes a horizon forged by the will to change and the courage of creativity.”
To conclude the evening, poet and visual artist Hanaa Miko presented an artistic piece on behalf of the Moroccan and African Writers Association to commemorate this literary event, documenting the moment of the birth of a young storyteller in the literary arena.
All participants agreed on the importance of this meeting in promoting childhood creativity and opening new horizons for emerging voices, thereby enhancing childhood’s presence in the Moroccan and Arab literary scenes and establishing a new generation of writers who possess an awareness of the value of words and the ability to express themselves and their world in a language that transcends the constraints of age, gender, and belonging.
