Fez — Tangier is preparing to turn its Kasbah into a meeting place for books, poetry, art, and Mediterranean voices as the Rencontres Méditerranéennes de Tanger (Tangier Mediterranean Encounters) returns for its second edition.

Running from September 24 to 27, the event will unfold mainly across Borj En-Naam’s Espace d’exposition de la mémoire d’Ibn Battouta (Ibn Battuta Memory Exhibition Space), Riad Sultan, Hotel El Minzah, and Riad Saba’s House.

This year’s edition places women at the center under the theme “La parole aux femmes de la Méditerranée” (Giving Voice to Mediterranean Women), bringing together writers, poets, artists, editors, and researchers from Morocco, Spain, France, Turkey, and Italy.

The program arrives as Tangier continues to build on its literary identity. UNESCO officially recognizes the city as a Creative City of Literature, a designation it received in 2025.

Women, exile, and the Mediterranean

The opening day will move quickly between literature and contemporary social questions.

A morning discussion will examine exile and migration in the Mediterranean with Laurent Galandon, Sedef Ecer, Rachid Benzine, and Jean-Marc Moura. Later, Imane Naciri, Leïla Bahsaïn, Souad Jamaï, and Claudia Maria Tresso will join a conversation on what it means to be a woman in the Mediterranean today.

Tangier itself also becomes part of the discussion, with a session exploring the city through younger voices, followed by Tresso’s reading of Ibn Battuta’s “Rihla” beyond borders.

The evening will shift toward performance at Riad Sultan, where multilingual poetry readings will celebrate the linguistic diversity of Moroccan poetry.

Poetry takes center stage

One of the strongest threads running through the four-day program is poetry.

On September 26, the event will honor Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwich through readings and discussions examining his work, memory, exile, and literary legacy. Waciny Laredj and Yamen Manai are among the writers scheduled to participate.

The tribute connects Tangier to the wider “Mahmoud Darwich Poetry Day,” an international initiative organized with the Centre Pompidou and partners across several countries. The 2026 edition places Darwich at the center of simultaneous readings, performances, and conversations exploring one of the most influential voices in modern Arabic poetry.

Elsewhere in the program, discussions will ask what poetry can still do in contemporary society, while writers and musicians will move between readings, concerts, and literary performance.

From books to brunch

The festival is not limiting itself to formal literary panels.

Friday’s program includes an encounter with architect Hanae Bekkari, a Book Club session at Hotel El Minzah, and a musical recital for Africa. Saturday expands into conversations on writing in turbulent times, women’s readings of Islamic sources, language in the Mediterranean, and the relationship between art and literature.

The second edition will close on September 27 at Riad Saba’s House with pianist and writer Juliette Garnier performing works by Debussy and Chopin during a poetic brunch.

Organized by Fondation Founoun Al Boughaz – Arts du Détroit (Founoun Al Boughaz Foundation – Arts of the Strait), the event is supported by Morocco’s Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication and the city of Tangier.

For four days, “Tangier Livre ouvert” (“Tangier Open Book”) will make the city’s literary identity something visitors can experience directly, moving between old walls, poetry, conversation, music, and the Mediterranean stories that continue to shape Tangier itself.