We now know the list of Nobel Prize winÂners for 2006, and the award cerÂeÂmoÂny in StockÂholm is not far off (DecemÂber 10th). This year’s prize in litÂerÂaÂture went to Orhan Pamuk, who is almost a rock star in his home counÂtry, Turkey, but less well known outÂside. But that’s clearÂly about to change. If you’re not already familÂiar with Pamuk’s work, we’ve pulled togethÂer some resources for you. Born in InstanÂbul in 1952 (check out the Nobel bio here), Pamuk has writÂten 10 books in TurkÂish — of which 7 have been transÂlatÂed into EngÂlish — and, through comÂplex plots and post-modÂern devices, his books repeatÂedÂly come back to explorÂing a dualÂiÂty — the relaÂtionÂship between East and West, IslamÂic valÂues and WestÂern valÂues, reliÂgion and secÂuÂlarÂism. As John Updike puts it in a review of Snow, a parÂticÂuÂlarÂly acclaimed work, what Pamuk delivÂers is an artisÂtic look at “the tenÂsion between the secÂuÂlarÂism estabÂlished by Kemal AtatĂĽrk in the nineÂteen-twenÂties and the recent rise of politÂiÂcal Islam; … the culÂturÂal divide between a WestÂernÂized Ă©lite and the theÂisÂtic massÂes.”
Much to his chaÂgrin, Pamuk has gained pubÂlic stature not simÂply because of his litÂerÂary achieveÂments, but because he has takÂen strong pubÂlic stands against the represÂsive tenÂdenÂcies of his govÂernÂment and IslamÂic radÂiÂcalÂism more genÂerÂalÂly. And he has paid a perÂsonÂal price. Notably, he was the first writer in the MusÂlim world to denounce the fatÂwa against Salman Rushdie. Also, when he declared in a 2005 interÂview that “ThirÂty thouÂsand Kurds and a milÂlion ArmeÂniÂans were killed in these lands [Turkey between 1915 and 1917] and nobody dares to talk about it,” the TurkÂish govÂernÂment respondÂed by harÂrassÂing him and then bringÂing him up on charges — charges it was evenÂtuÂalÂly forced to drop because of interÂnaÂtionÂal presÂsure. As this interÂview makes clear, Pamuk is not exactÂly what you’d call an eager disÂsiÂdent. Rather, you get the strong sense that it’s a moral obligÂaÂtion for him, the ethÂiÂcal cost of being famous in a counÂtry that has too few peoÂple willÂing to call on the govÂernÂment to account for its actions.
Resources:
Text
- Pamuk on “The FreeÂdom to Write”
- Pamuk’s Short PerÂsonÂal Piece in The New YorkÂer
- A ConÂverÂsaÂtion with Orhan Pamuk
- Guardian ProÂfile
Media
- Orhan Pamuk InterÂview: Nobel Prize WinÂner 2006 (Real PlayÂer — Audio)
- Pamuk on his novÂel, “Snow” (Online Stream)
FinalÂly, you can find Pamuk in conÂverÂsaÂtion with Arthur DanÂto.
i have been badÂly lookÂing for the e‑mail id of Pamuk. i recentÂly visÂitÂed his homeÂland… he has nevÂer betrayed. he just kicked up the dust of the hidÂden hisÂtoÂry.
subÂodh sarkar
BenÂgali poet
kolkata
india