The Well-Read Wanderer: The Literary Titans of Tangier

When I was a young and broke traveller, half my backpack was books. Real books, paper and all. They were heavy but it was worth it. At the time, there was a thriving book barter system among travellers. Crime and Punishment for Midnight’s Children, that was a fair swap. Travel and literature have always gone hand in hand which makes sense because they have a lot in common. Both expand your imagination and take you to new worlds.

Welcome to our series called The Well-Read Wanderer. We’ll be sharing everything to do with travel and books. We’ll write about literary figures in different countries, famous authors’ foreign haunts, festivals of literature, and book recommendations so you can prepare for your travel adventure, or read while in situ—consuming Death on the Nile while on the Nile, for instance.

First up, for those of you on your way to, or dreaming of, Morocco: the literary history of Tangier.

T. (Wanderwell Team)

A City Shaped by Words and Wanderers

“Tangier is a place that is almost unreal.”

-William S. Burroughs (writer of the Beat Generation and author of Naked Lunch)

Tangier has been source of inspiration for generations of writers. Perched where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic, this Moroccan port city is a place in-between. Not only is it in-between two massive bodies water, it is a cultural crossroads between Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Long before mass tourism, multiples language were spoken in the old medinas — Arabic, French, Spanish, and English. From 1923 and 1956, Tangier even existed beyond traditional borders as an International Zone.

This ambiguous status allowed artists and dissidents to move in and out freely, creating a cosmopolitan air laced with creative tension. While Morocco remained rooted in tradition, Tangier offered an open door to experimentation, especially for foreigners escaping more restrictive environments back home. There was something liberating about a place in-between.

The cafes buzzed with patrons arguing about philosophy and politics, and writers tormented by their half-finished novels. The city tolerated, and even encouraged, eccentricity. That energy became fuel for literary innovation that continues to echo across generations. Tangier was both muse and refuge for famous literary figures, including one of the 20th century’s more influential cultural movements: the Beat Generation.

The Beat Generation and the Tangier Effect

The Beat Generation was an American literary and cultural movement prominent in the 1950s and early 1960s. Its adherents rejected materialism and mainstream social norms, and embraced personal and artistic freedom. They were inspired by jazz, travel, Eastern spirituality, and innovative writing styles. Key writers in the movement—and their most famous books—were Jack Kerouac (On the Road), Allan Ginsburg (Howl) and William S. Burroughs (Naked Lunch). They called themselves the Beats.

The Beats fell in love with Tangier. Burroughs spent his most experimental years here. Holed up in a crumbling apartment near the Kasbah, a fortress overlooking the Straits of Gibraltar, he began piecing together the surreal fragments of what would become Naked Lunch. The book, published in 1959, changed American literature, and Tangier was its chaotic heartbeat. Ginsberg and Kerouac also passed through, drawn by blurred boundaries and creativity freed from censorship.

In Tangier, the Beat Generation found a liminal space outside time and morality where they could write, experiment, and simply exist. Drugs, drink and conversations flowed, and the days blurred into nights filled with poetry, jazz, and Moroccan rhythms. While their presence was often controversial, there’s no denying the deep impression they left behind. Tangier provided more than escape; it gave the Beats a canvas and a community, however fleeting. And in doing so, it helped launch literature into a new, more liberated era.

The Beats didn’t come out of nowhere. They had a mentor, an American writer who predated their arrival and had already discovered how the magical atmosphere of Tangier could power creativity: Paul Bowles.

Paul Bowles and the Tangier Literary Scene

If Burroughs embodied chaos, Paul Bowles was Tangier’s quiet anchor. He arrived in 1947 and stayed for more than fifty years, making the city his permanent home. His novel The Sheltering Sky brought international attention not only to Bowles himself but also to Morocco as a literary landscape — vast, unknowable, and hauntingly beautiful. In Bowles’ Tangier, the exotic wasn’t romanticised; it was a space of internal reckoning and dislocation.

Bowles also worked as a translator, and helped preserve the oral storytelling traditions of Moroccan culture. His home became a kind of literary salon, where young writers like Tennessee Williams (A Streetcar Named Desire), Truman Capote (In Cold Blood), and Jean Genet (The Thief’s Journal) dropped in for advice, anecdotes, or just a strong drink. Through his work and presence, Bowles gave Tangier a voice that resonated across continents. He was a bridge between cultures, languages, and generations. In shaping Tangier’s literary identity, he ensured it would never again be just a place on a map.

Even today, walking through Tangier’s streets feels like flipping through pages written by those who came before. From the sea-facing terraces to the crumbling colonial façades, every corner tells a story. Let’s explore the spaces where the city’s stories came to life that you can visit today.

Literary Cafés, Salons, and Cultural Crossroads

To feel Tangier’s literary magic, go where the writers went: its cafés. Café Hafa, perched high above the sea, is more than just a scenic spot for mint tea. It’s where generations of creatives have gathered, from Paul Bowles and the Rolling Stones to modern-day poets scribbling in journals.

Another iconic haunt is the Hotel El Muniria, modest in appearance but legendary in lore. This was Burroughs’ Tangier home — Room 9 to be exact — and the site where parts of Naked Lunch took shape. The hotel bar, still open today, carries the echoes of rambling conversations that once included Genet, Capote, and other literary nomads who wandered through the city looking for stories, or to outrun their own.

Don’t forget the storytellers in the medina’s bustling souks (markets) who’ve been reciting oral tales for generations. You can still listen to them today. Their voices, and the timeless stories they tell, influenced the rhythm and structure of many Western works.

The City That Writes Itself

Wander through Tangier today and the words of Bowles, Burroughs, and countless others feel etched into the walls. The city hums with literary ghosts, infusing the city with creative energy that still shapes the atmosphere. It’s a place where books aren’t just written but breathed, debated, and lived. The literary history of Tangier remains part of the present. Writers still come, drawn by the same mix of inspiration and freedom that lured the Beats and others. From readings in contemporary galleries to storytelling circles deep in the medina, the literary tradition lives on.

For those who feel the call of stories and the thrill of unfamiliar streets, Tangier promises not just an escape but a transformation. Wanderwell believes some places help you see the world, and yourself, more clearly. Tangier is one of them. Let it write something new in you.

Want to read more? Why You Should Stay in a Riad in Morocco. The Choosy Traveller: Fez vs. Marrakesh Medina. The Hungry Traveller: A Definite Guide to Moroccan Food.