Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk: biography and creativity

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Orhan Pamuk is a popular Turkish writer. He has won numerous awards, including the Nobel Prize in Literature, which he received in 2006. His active position is well known, which often does not coincide with the opinion of the Turkish authorities. For example, about discrimination against Kurds and the Armenian genocide.

Writer's biography

Orhan Pamuk was born in Istanbul. He was born in 1952. His father worked as an engineer. Orhan Pamuk received his education at an American college located in the Turkish capital. Then he entered the technical university. His parents dreamed that he would follow in his father's footsteps and become a civil engineer. In his third year, Pamuk dropped out of college, dreaming of becoming a writer.

In 1977, he received a diploma from the Institute of Journalism of Istanbul University. In the mid-80s he lived in America. He taught at Columbia University, then returned to his homeland in Turkey.

Emigration to the USA

In 1982, the Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk got married and has a daughter. In 2001 he divorced. At the same time, he continued to live in Turkey until 2007. But after the murder of Hrant Dink, a Turkish human rights activist of Armenian descent, he left for New York, where he remains to this day.since. Dink was killed by an extremist.

In 2007, Pamuk received the title of professor at Columbia University. At the university, he teaches a course for beginner writers, and also teaches the history of world literature.

According to rumors, Orhan Pamuk had a relationship with Indian writer Kira Desai for some time. Her most famous novel, Legacy of the Ruined, about the relationship between East and West, won the Booker Prize.

It is known that since 2010 the common-law wife of the Turkish writer is Asla Akyavash. A long-term acquaintance connects her with him, the relationship continues for more than one year.

Creativity by Orhan Pamuk

The first significant work of Pamuk was a saga novel called "Jevdet Bey and his sons". In it, the author described in detail the history of several generations of the average Istanbul family.

In the writer's work, the themes of confrontation between the West and the East, Christianity and Islam, as well as modernity and traditions are most of all interested. A striking example is the novel "Snow". It vividly describes the conflict between Islamism and Westernism, which unfolds on the example of life in modern Turkish society.

The action of almost all of Orhan Pamuk's books takes place in the Turkish capital of Istanbul. For example, the book "Istanbul. City of Memories", in fact, is a cycle of interrelated essays and stories that are united by the city of Istanbul itself and the autobiographical motifs found on the pages of this work.

AwardNobel Prize

In 2006, an important event took place in the biography of Orhan Pamuk. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature.

This time the Nobel Committee, arguing their choice, chose a very original wording. The Turkish writer was awarded the prize for finding new symbols of the intertwining and clash of cultures in search of the melancholy soul of his native city.

At that time, one of his most famous works was the novel "The White Fortress". It describes the events that took place in Istanbul in the 17th century. In the center of the story is a young Italian who is captured by the Turks. In captivity, he becomes a servant of a very strange person who is simply obsessed with the idea of knowing the Universe.

Perhaps the most important secret of this work lies in the image of a Turkish scientist who looks so much like an Italian prisoner that they are often confused.

Community activities

Pamuk's non-standard statements on many issues that are acute for Turkish society made him a controversial personality in the eyes of his contemporaries and compatriots. Some admire his courage and courage, others consider him a traitor.

For example, in 2005, the government of his home country sued Pamuk over his interview with a Swiss magazine. In it, he openly stated that at least 30,000 Kurds and about a million Armenians were killed in Turkey, but apart from him, everyone elsehush up. After this statement, he became an object of hatred in his native country, since it is not customary to raise such topics in Turkish society. As a result, he temporarily left Turkey, but then returned despite the allegations.

Pamuk's trial was planned for 2005, but it was postponed. As a result, the Ministry of Justice withdrew the lawsuit, and the trial never took place.

Because of the accusations against Pamuk abroad, they are seriously interested in freedom of speech in Turkey itself. This question is especially often raised in connection with the country's desire to join the European Union.

As a result, the human rights organization Amnesty International called for the abolition of the article of the Turkish criminal code on insulting Turkey and local identity. For this crime, you can get a term (up to three years in prison). Pamuk was supported by many world famous writers.

Proceedings against the hero of this article ended in 2011. The court sentenced him to a fine of about four thousand dollars. By the way, the theme of massacres of Istanbul Armenians and Greeks was one of the main ones in his novel "Istanbul. The City of Memories".

The unique work "Museum of Innocence" by Orhan Pamuk

In 2012, Pamuk released a new novel called The Museum of Innocence. Its main theme is a reflection of the reality of the past. According to the author himself, he managed to form a unique collection of old, rare things, similar to thosewhich are described in his book.

Those who have read this work say that Orhan Pamuk's "Museum of Innocence" is an amazing love story that is deep, boundless and inconsolable. In this novel, the author tells about the relationship between the heir to a we althy Istanbul family named Kemal and his distant and poor relative Fusun.

Pamuk in this work explores the innermost secrets of the human soul. He notes that they transform space and time, ultimately into what is called true life.

Pamuk's latest novels

Orkhan Pamuk's books are very popular in Russia as well. Two novels were released in 2016. These are "Redheaded Woman" and "My Strange Thoughts".

He worked on "My Strange Thoughts" for six years. The work describes the events that took place from 1969 to 2012. The main character works on the streets of the Turkish capital and watches how more and more new people appear. From Anatolia to Istanbul, the poor come en masse to earn money, the city is constantly changing and transforming. All the ongoing coups in Turkey, changes of power are shown as they are perceived by the protagonist. He also wonders what makes him different from everyone else.

The novel "The Red-Haired Woman" tells about the love relationship of an Istanbul lyceum student and an actress of a traveling theater.