Reshaping the Margin and Deconstructing the Center in Amin Zaoui’s “The Bash Kateb”

The novel “The Bash Kateb” – Nothing Left for the President’s Scribe to write by Amin Zaoui is a literary work that deeply analyzes the dynamics of power and resistance. It highlights the contrast between the ruling center, represented by President "Qazman Abu Niswan" and his writer "Bash the Writer," and the marginalized population, symbolizing the people or the parish. The text exposes a structural divide between central authority and society at the margins. "Bash Kateb" portrays the people in derogatory terms, referring to them as "beasts" and "mobs." He justifies this perspective by drawing from historical political traditions, reinforcing "Qazman’s" dominance as an absolute and transcendent ruler.

In contrast, the public sphere—represented by the street—becomes a space for active resistance. Intellectual figures such as "Mahdi Akherif" (Bob Marley) and "Da Mawloud" lead efforts to transform the margins into a dynamic force. They use art, poetry, and popular movements as tools to challenge centralized power and redefine the relationship between rulers and the governed. This study applies discourse and spatial analysis, incorporating Foucault’s theories on power and resistance, as well as postcolonial critiques on hybridity and other related concepts. It reveals the fragility of dominant power structures when confronted with the voices of the marginalized—represented by the street, the people, and intellectuals.

The novel presents a dialectical struggle between masculine political dominance at the center and cultural and collective resistance at the margins. The street acts as a mirror, reflecting shifts in identity and power. Meanwhile, language and art serve as instruments of liberation, reshaping reality and challenging authoritarian control.

Keywords: power, street, intellectual, margin, hybrid, parish

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