What is it about?
This chapter examines the transformation of Tunisian poetry during the 2011 Revolution through the lens of digital technology. It focuses on the work of the iconic poet Sghaier Ouled Ahmed, specifically his use of Facebook as a "Central Command" for dissent. I explore how the transition from traditional printed pages to "virtual" social media platforms created a new kind of poetics of the virtual. This digital shift allowed poetry to move across borders and become a shared, interactive weapon against dictatorship and religious fundamentalism.
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Why is it important?
This work moves beyond the purely political or sociological analysis of the Arab Spring to look at its artistic and aesthetic energy. While many critics at the time dismissed social media as a "fake" or shallow world, I argue that for poets like Ouled Ahmed, technology was a triumph of youth and innovation over an ossified, oppressive regime. It highlights a critical moment in history where the word became a literal weapon, proving that literature is not an "ivory tower" pursuit but a dynamic force that can mobilize a nation toward dignity and change.
Perspectives
My aim is to fight against all forms of silencing. By studying Ouled Ahmed’s virtual guerrillas, I want to demonstrate the unstoppable power of literature in shaping ethics and political consciousness. This chapter denounces the injustice of censorship and celebrates the "connected" writer who uses every available tool—even a Facebook post—to defend freedom of expression and social justice.
Professor Hager Ben Driss
Université de Tunis
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Poetics of the Virtual: Technology and Revolution in the Poetry of Sghaier Ouled Ahmed, January 2021, Bloomsbury Academic,
DOI: 10.5040/9780755634217.ch-005.
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