Djamal Amrani

• Name — Djamel Amrani • Born — 29 August 1935 • Birthplace — Sour El-Ghozlane, Algeria • Died — 2 March 2005 • Place of death — Algiers, Algeria • Occupation — Writer • Education — Bir Mourad Raïs Communal School

Djamel (or Djamal) Amrani was educated in 1952, at the communal school of Bir Mourad Raïs. On 19 May 1956 he participated in the strike of Algerian students. In 1957, he was arrested, tortured and imprisoned by the colonial army. In 1958, when he was released from prison, he was expelled to France. In 1960, he published his first book at Éditions de Minuit, Le Témoin. That same year, he met Pablo Neruda and created the newspaper Chaâb. In 1966, he became a producer of a Maghrebian program at the ORTF, and began a radio career alongside Leïla Boutaleb on Algerian radio. In 2004, he was awarded the Pablo Neruda Medal, the international distinction of poetry.