Orhan Pamuk - Winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature
Nordic Reach › Vol. 19 Nbr. 19, November 2006 › News
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Summary
On October 12 cheers rang out as the Swedish Academy announced Turkish author Orhan Pamuk as this year's Nobel Prize Winner in Literature. Pamuk, who was born in 1952, had long been a favorite for the award, and is the first Turkish writer to be honored with the prize. In the words of the Swedish Academy, Pamuk's "quest for the melancholic soul of his native city" made him discover "new symbols for the clash and interlacing of cultures". Pamuk was born 1952 in Istanbul where he still lives.
In mid-November the author faced a handful of Swedish reporters for an intimate press conference at the Swedish Consul's residence in New York. Looking suave in a dark pinstripe blazer and matching pants, Pamuk seemed happy and relaxed. He has had quite a year. In 2005, Pamuk condemned the mass killings of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire during WW1, and the killing of the Kurds by Turkey in the 1980's in an interview with a Swiss magazine. Turkish ultra-nationalist lawyers were quick to bring charges against him for the statements in a case that received international attention as it coincided with Turkey's proposed entry into the European Union. For a while it looked like the author might be heading for jail, but charges against him were dropped early in 2006. It has since proved difficult for Pamuk to quench questions about his political involvement."Translation," he says, "is a painful subject. I'm translated into more than 40 languages, but the only translator I have a close relationship with, is my English translator, because it's the only language besides Turkish that I speak. We argue, talk, discuss and occasionally fight. It's a very time consuming but necessary process. Not only the story must be translated, but the hidden meanings, the inner music, and the nuances."See the full content of this document
Extract
Orhan Pamuk - Winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature
"I don't really mind, but politics takes so little of my time, and I'm not interested in propaganda. I'd rather talk about my books - it'd be misrepresented otherwise, I'm a writer and my writing comes from my heart."
On October 12 cheers rang out as the Swedish Academy announced Turkish ...See the full content of this document
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