“1,000 Izri from the Rif”: More Than a Hundred Years of Rif Poetry, Finally Saved
Rabat – For over a century, the poets of Morocco’s Rif region have sung of war, exile, longing, and love. Now, for the first time, more than 6,600 of their verses have been gathered in a single book.
“1000 Izri from the Rif“, written by playwright and author Ahmed Zahid and supported by the Council of the Moroccan Community Abroad (CCME), is one of the most comprehensive efforts ever undertaken to preserve the Izran — the traditional oral poetry that has long served as the Rif’s voices. Published by “Moltaka Ettourok” , the book draws on the work of more than 40 artists across 116 years of a shared cultural memory.
What makes the book unique is not just its scale, but its depth. Each poem is rooted in its moment — verses born during the Spanish Civil War, songs of those who crossed into Algeria seeking a better life, laments of fathers and husbands working far from home. Read together, they form an intimate portrait of a society in motion, carrying its identity across borders and generations.
To ensure the widest possible reach, the texts are presented in three scripts: Arabic, Latin, and the native Amazigh script known as Tifinagh. More than 70 academic references and detailed annotations make it equally valuable to scholars and general readers alike.
On May 3, 2026, the book takes centre stage at the CCME pavilion during the 31st International Book Fair in Rabat, where Fouad Azroual, a researcher at the Royal Institute of Amazigh Culture and writer Fatiha Saaidi will lead the discussion about the power of the Rif’s enduring Izran poetry.
