Marie-Louise Belarbi
Marie-Louise Belarbi | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1928 Montpellier, France |
| Died | 2020-05-20 |
| Occupation(s) | Bookseller, publisher, editor, author |
| Known for | Founder of Carrefour des Livres and Tarik Publishing House |
| Notable work | Ligne brisée (2013), Soixante ans de passion pour le livre (memoir) |
Marie-Louise Belarbi (1928 – 28 May 2020) was a distinguished French-Moroccan bookseller, publisher, editor, and author. Although born in France, she spent the majority of her life in Morocco, where she established the prominent bookstore Carrefour des Livres and the Tarik Publishing House, fostering French, Moroccan, and Maghreb literary works. Her publishing house featured significant writers including Françoise Sagan, Tahar Ben Jelloun, Driss Chraïbi, and Abdellah Taïa. Belarbi herself wrote both a novel and a memoir. In recognition of her publishing achievements, she was honored as an officer of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2001.
Biography
Marie-Louise Guibal was born in 1928 in Montpellier. Following her marriage to Abdelkader Belarbi, a Moroccan official who served in the Ministries of Education and Industry, she relocated to Morocco. The couple had three children: Myriam, Mounia (a journalist), and Malek Belarbi (a musician). After a lengthy illness, she passed away on 20 May 2020 at the age of 91.
Career
Belarbi’s professional journey began at Éditions Julliard in Paris, where she supported the launch of Françoise Sagan’s first novel Bonjour tristesse. Upon moving to Morocco, she initially took up teaching before opening Carrefour des Livres in Casablanca’s Maârif neighborhood in 1984. Together with actor Bichr Bennani, she co-established Tarik Publishing House to promote literature from Morocco and the Maghreb region.
Carrefour des Livres quickly became a central venue for Casablanca’s cultural scene, organizing events featuring writers such as Rachid Mimouni, Yasmina Khadra, and Frédéric Beigbeder. Tarik Publishing House played a crucial role in publishing early works by notable African and French authors including Tahar Ben Jelloun, Driss Chraïbi, and Abdellah Taïa. Among its important releases were prison memoirs like Ahmed Marzouki's On affame bien les rats.
Between 1986 and 1990, Belarbi presented the literary television show Plaisir de Lire on SNRT’s Chaîne Inter. She also led the literary association Coup de Soleil and co-initiated the annual Maghreb Book Fair in Paris starting in 1994, which draws over one hundred authors each year. In 1999, she contributed to founding Morocco’s Association for the Promotion of Publishing, Books and Reading (APELL).
Her written works include the novel Ligne brisée (Broken Line, published by Zellige in 2013) and a memoir entitled Soixante ans de passion pour le livre.
Awards and honors
In 2001, Belarbi received the title of officer within the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres as acknowledgment for her significant contributions to literature and publishing.