A majority of the chapters in this book were originally presented as papers at a conference held at Queen's University Belfast in September 2006. The volume explores the oral-written dynamic in the conte français/francophone, focusing on key aspects of the relationship between oral and written forms of the conte. The chapters fall into four broad thematic areas (the oral-written dynamic in early modern France; literary appropriations and transformations; postcolonial contexts; storytelling in contemporary France: linguistic strategies). Within these broad areas, some chapters deal with sources and influences (such as that of written on oral and vice versa), others with the nature of the discourse resulting from an oral-written dynamic (discourse structure, linguistic features etc.), some with the oral-written interface as it affects the definition of genre, others with the role of the 'oral' within the literary or written text (use of storytelling scenarios, the problematics inherent in transcribing/adapting the spoken word etc.). This chronological and methodological range allows us to situate the emergence of the form in socio-cultural and historical terms, and to open up debate around the role of the conte in particular geographical and political contexts: regional, national, European and postcolonial. This book contains contributions in both English and French.

Drawing on stories he heard as a boy from female relatives, Jilali El Koudia presents a cross section of utterly bewitching narratives. Filled with ghouls and fools, kind magic and wicked, eternal bonds and earthly wishes, these are mesmerizing stories to be savored, studied, or simply treasured. Varied genres include anecdotes, legends, and animal fables, and some tales bear strong resemblance to European counterparts, for example Aamar and his Sister (Hansel and Gretel) and Nunja and the White Dove (Cinderella). All capture the heart of Morroco and the soul of its people. In an enlightening introduction, El Koudia mourns the loss of the teller of tales in the marketplace, and he makes it clear that storytelling, born of memory and oral tradition, could vanish in the face of mass and electronic media.