The novelist Naïm Kattan passed away in Paris on July 2nd. From Baghdad to Paris to Montreal, Naïm Kattan continuously spread his love for writing, his open mindedness, and his sense for diplomacy.
He has mentioned multiple times, that for him the years of French education at the Alliance Israélite Universelle in Baghdad were crucial. A brief passage from his autobiographical novel “Farewell to Babylon”, attests to this. In the book the character Nessim is confronted with a French examiner for the oral part of the baccalaureate. He spoke ecstatically about this occasion: “I looked, with eager eyes, at my examiner: he was the first authentic Frenchman I had seen in the flesh. This man belonged to the race of Molière and Baudelaire. I endowed him with magical powers.”
Another, also topical issue, he has managed to establish more peace in, is the conflict between the French and English communities in Canada. For his achievements he was awarded many honorary titles, both in Canada and France.
His connection to the Alliance did not end with him graduating from school. He was an active member at various french journals like “Evidences” or “Les Nouveaux Cahiers”, as well as at the Amis Canadiens de l’Alliance à Montréal. And more recently, he was among the protagonists of the colloquium dedicated to Leonard Cohen organized in Paris in 2014. He spoke about the talented young poet from Montreal and his teacher Irving Layto.
The passing of Naïm Kattan is a loss of a great author. We would like to express our sincere condolences to his son Emmanuel and to all his relatives.
Naim Kattan's works in the AIU Digital Library (chronological order)
To complete this homage, we invite you to explore the many unknown texts that Naïm Kattan has written over the past sixty years in various French-speaking Jewish periodicals.
Saul Bellow, Evidences. N° 89 (Juillet/Août 1961), p. 25-31
Philip Roth, Evidences. N° 95 (Janvier/Février 1963), p. 61-65
Bientôt l’Expo 67 (sur la participation juive à l’exposition universelle de Montréal), Les Nouveaux Cahiers N°008 (Dec. 1966), p. 75
Mosaïque canadienne. Les Nouveaux Cahiers N°009 (Printemps 1967), p. 60-65
Un amour sans mesure (recension du livre Mom par Bruce Jay Friedman), Les Nouveaux Cahiers N°011 (Automne 1967), p. 77-78
James Baldwin, un point de vue inquiétant. Les Nouveaux Cahiers N°012 (Hiver 1967-68), p. 18-19
Une œuvre prémonitoire (sur le roman d’Elias Canetti Auto-da-fe), Les Nouveaux Cahiers N°019 (Automne 1969), p. 67-69
Le Chinois d’Amérique (recension du roman du même titre de Leslie Fiedler, Les Nouveaux Cahiers N°021 (Eté 1970), p. 56-57
Des nouvelles de B.-J. Friedman, Les Nouveaux Cahiers N°021 (Eté 1970), p. 57-58
Adieu Babylone (publication d’un chapitre du roman), Les Nouveaux Cahiers N°043 (Hiver 1975-76), p. 60-63
Un entretien avec Naïm Kattan, par Emile Malet. Les Nouveaux Cahiers N°058 (Automne 1979), p. 66-68
Des anciens de l’Alliance se réunissent à Montréal, Les Cahiers de l'Alliance Israélite Universelle (Paix et Droit). N°218 (01 mai 1989), p. 33
Moïse et Mohammed (recension du livre Le Père, essais), par Annie Goldmann, Les Nouveaux Cahiers N°104 (Printemps 1991), p. 76-77.
Les portes de l’univers, Les Cahiers de l'Alliance Israélite Universelle (Paix et Droit) (nouvelle série) N°22 (01 juil. 2000), p. 28
Narration et parole (résumé de la contribution au colloque La Bible et ses interprètes, février 2003, Paris) Les Cahiers de l'Alliance Israélite Universelle (Paix et Droit) (nouvelle série) N°27 (01 mars 2003), p. 53
Sur les rives de Babylone : souvenir d’une communauté disparue : une interview de Naïm Kattan., Les Cahiers de l'Alliance Israélite Universelle (Paix et Droit) (nouvelle série) N°28 (01 nov. 2003), p. 72-74.