Turkish literature

Yavuz Ekinci's new novel

Armenian genocide denial is a great and enduring lie by the Turkish state, characterised by ongoing violence and racism. Yavuz Ekinci takes up the subject in an unsparing and powerful novel: "Das ferne Dorf meiner Kindheit" – 'the distant village of my childhood'. Gerrit Wustmann read the book

Political prose from prison

Selahattin Demirtas, former co-chair of the Turkish opposition party HDP, has been in prison since 2016. He has published five books during this time. The short story collection "Cold Front" is the second to be published in German. Gerrit Wustmann reviews the book for Qantara.de

Fighting for freedom with the lute, not the sword

The poetry of Pir Sultan once prompted uprisings in the Ottoman Empire. To this day, Alevis identify with him. Rainer Hermann visited Mehmet Celebi, a direct descendant of the medieval bard, who lives in the house Pir Sultan built in a tiny mountain village in Turkey

Beyond the walls of Van

Kurdish journalist Nedim Turfent has been in prison in Turkey since 2016 – because he reported on police violence. A collection of his writings penned while behind bars is now available in German. Gerrit Wustmann read the book

The ghosts of the army

Hakan Gunday is one of the most exciting authors on today’s Turkish literature scene. His novel "Ziyan", now published in German as "Verlust" – literally 'loss' – takes a radical and contemplative look at a country mired in permanent military conflict. Gerrit Wustmann read the book

Orhan Pamuk's Museum of Innocence: thousands of significant, insignificant objects

"Witch hunt" focuses on Turkish artists and intellectuals

Artists and intellectuals in Turkey are coming under massive pressure. Since the attempted coup against Erdogan by parts of the military in 2016, the government has intensified its crackdown on critical voices. Now the coronavirus pandemic is proving the final nail in the coffin. Ceyda Nurtsch reports

"The tradition of looking the other way"

Published in German, Dogan Akhanli's novel "Madonna's Last Dream" pays homage to Sabahattin Ali’s classic "Madonna in a Fur Coat" – as well as being a narration of the crimes of the 20th century from the Armenian genocide and the Holocaust through to the refugee stories of our time. Gerrit Wustmann spoke to the Cologne-based author

Literature is more powerful than tyranny

Unable to travel to Munich to attend the presentation ceremony for his Geschwister-Scholl Prize, writer Ahmet Altan penned a message against hatred and nationalism from his prison cell in Turkey. Read out by his close friend Yasemin Congar, it formed his acceptance speech

"The things I didn’t say"

The Turkish author Asli Erdogan has been living in Germany for the past two years. In Turkey, she is still on trial. Now a wrongly-translated interview has triggered a smear campaign against her. Gerrit Wustmann spoke to her

The Middle East – a rich vein of world literature

Recently published in German, Stefan Weidner's new book issues an invitation to all those who would like to be better acquainted with the literature of the Middle East – a profoundly fascinating journey through the works of Arab, Persian and Turkish authors. By Gerrit Wustmann