Author Description

CLASSIC TRAVEL WRITING. In the spring and summer of 1931, Wyndham Lewis travelled to Morocco. Escaping the furore that surrounded the publication of his controversial book on Hitler, Lewis also intended to explore the culture of the Berbers of Morocco. Lewis' text predates the ascent of Amazigh national consciousness in the late 20th century and his repeated play on the words Berber, Barbary, and barbarism reveals an important element of his attitude toward the Berber people. While avoiding labelling them as primitive, he associates them with strong practices of barbarian rule that at once contrast the enervation of European modernity and suggest a path by which Europe might revive itself. While his tone may be uncomfortable at times, he actually rejects and discredits all the familiar stereotypes of Oriental exoticism - unusual for a book of this period.