Xavier Le Clerc
Xavier Le Clerc was born Hamid Aït-Taleb. He changed his name in his early thirties because of discrimination he faced. Born in Kabylia, Algeria, he grew up in Normandy and now lives with his husband between Paris and Kent. He is a celebrated French Algerian novelist and poet. His third novel Un homme sans titre was met with wide critical acclaim in France where it was awarded four literary prizes: the Prix de l’Académie des Belles Lettres et des Sciences Caen, the Prix de la Grande Mosquée de Paris, the Prix du livre de La Tribune and the Grand Prix du Roman Métis. Le Clerc holds two Master’s degrees from the Sorbonne, in Human Sciences and in Comparative Literature.
Interviews with Xavier Le Clerc
The best books on Algeria, recommended by Xavier Le Clerc
In his book, A Man With No Title, Xavier Le Clerc tells the story of his father, who was born in extreme poverty in the mountains of Algeria and emigrated to France to give his children a better life. Here he recommends books by some of Algeria’s greatest writers—and explains how they shed light on his father’s life and Algeria’s experience of French colonialism.
