Sheena McCallion Chraïbi will lead us in a discussion, both in French and English, on the life and work of her late husband, Driss Chraïbi. Sheena was born in Scotland and earned an M.A. Honors degree in Modern Languages and Literature (French and German) from St Andrews University. In 1971, on an exchange program as a teaching assistant in Paris, she met Driss Chraïbi, at the very moment he was writing his seminal novel, La Civilisation, ma Mère!… After their marriage in 1978, the couple moved to Île d’Yeu, off the Atlantic coast of France, where Driss was inspired to write the three novels that became known as “The Berber Trilogy”.
Sheena was very implicated in his work and was by his side when Driss returned to Morocco in 1985, after 25 years of exile. After living in Morocco for two years, the couple resided in Crest, France for the remainder of his life. Although Driss now rests in Casablanca, a street in Crest has been named after him. Sheena has been fully invested in Driss’s legacy, actively participating in book festivals, conferences, and seminars, both in France and Morocco, and remaining in regular contact with publishers and translators. She is also currently working on a personal writing project.