Orhan Pamuk
Orhan Pamuk is a Turkish writer about to go on trial for the crime of denigrating the nation. Read about it at Literary Saloon and Maud Newton. I can’t see any specific campaigns for him at either Amnesty International or PEN but you could email them anyway.
Amnesty has this information about Article 301 and an extract is here.
Orhan Pamuk is an internationally-known Turkish author whose novels, including Snow and My Name is Red, have been translated into many languages and have received wide critical acclaim. He is facing charges under Article 301 for comments he made during an interview he gave to a Swiss newspaper (Tages Anzeiger) on 5 February 2005. In the interview, Orhan Pamuk stated, “30,000 Kurds and a million Armenians were murdered. Hardly anyone dares mention it, so I do. And that’s why I’m hated”. The first hearing of his case will take place in the Sisli Court of First Instance No. 2 in Istanbul on 16 December 2005.
Another way to support him is to buy his books.
posted by Keziah Hill @ 10:24 am
2 Comments
2 Comments:
I heard the tailend of a news story concerning this the other day but somehow lost the thread. So many thanks Keziah for this post and the very informative links. I've not read any of his books but will take a serious look at them now. Any recommendations?
I haven't read any Lena but I'm going to buy My Name is Red. The reviews of it at Powells.com read:
At once a fiendishly devious mystery, a beguiling love story, and a brilliant symposium on the power of art, My Name Is Red is a transporting tale set amid the splendor and religious intrigue of sixteenth-century Istanbul, from one of the most prominent contemporary Turkish writers.
The Sultan has commissioned a cadre of the most acclaimed artists in the land to create a great book celebrating the glories of his realm. Their task: to illuminate the work in the European style. But because figurative art can be deemed an affront to Islam, this commission is a dangerous proposition indeed. The ruling elite therefore mustn't know the full scope or nature of the project, and panic erupts when one of the chosen miniaturists disappears. The only clue to the mystery — or crime? — lies in the half-finished illuminations themselves. Part fantasy and part philosophical puzzle, My Name is Red is a kaleidoscopic journey to the intersection of art, religion, love, sex, and power.
Sounds like just my cup of tea.
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