Handan Meltem Arıkan (born January 7, 1968) is a Turkish

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

and

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

Biography

Arıkan was born and grew up in

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

, Turkey. Currently she is UK based since she was persecuted by the Turkish government. The play Mi Minör is considered by the politicians a subversive work and the playwright is accused to be responsible for the rehearsal of Gezi Park protests. She allegedly received rape and death threats Her first short stories and essays were published in various literary journals during 1992–1995. Her first novel, ''Ve… Veya… Belki… (And… Or… Maybe…)'' was published in 1999, followed by ''Evet... Ama... Sanki... (Yes… But… As If…)'' in 2000 and ''Kadin Bedenini Soyarsa (Undressing Herself)'' in 2002. Her fourth novel ''Yeter Tenimi Acıtmayın (Stop Hurting My Flesh)'' which included women's trauma stories of child abuse, harassment and incest had been banned in early 2004 by the ''Committee to Protect the Minors from Obscene Publications'', a body established under the Turkish Prime Ministry, with the accusation of "Writing about the non-existing incest fact in Turkey, while using Turkish names for the characters, attempting to disturb the Turkish family order with a feminist approach." Following the legal procedures, the ban was lifted by the '1st Magistrate Criminal Court' after two months, and the book was published once again without being subjected to any censorship. After this experience of censorship, Arıkan has been awarded with “Freedom of Idea and Statement Prize 2004” by the Turkish Publishers’ Association. Her fifth novel ''Zaten Yoksunuz (You Exist In No Way)'' was published in 2005, followed by ''Umut Lanettir (Hope is a Curse)'' in 2006. After her first 6 novels, Arikan wrote the script for the play ''I’m Breaking the Game (Oyunu Bozuyorum)'' which premiered in August at the Zurich Theater Spectacle, performed by Garajistanbul and awarded the “New Unique Play” prize from VIII. Lions Theatrical Awards in 2007. She published a research book titled ''Beden Biliyor (The Body Knows)'' in 2008. In 2009 another play, ''Parallel'', whose dramaturgy was by Arıkan, was staged by Garajistanbul as a part of the

Linz Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital of ...

2009: European Capital of Culture program. Her last novel, ''Özlemin Beni Savuran (Your Yearning That Sways Me)'' was published in June 2009.

Bibliography

Fiction

* 1999 ''Ve... Veya... Belki... (And... Or... Maybe...)'', 210 pp., 3rd edition 2005, * 2000 ''Evet... Ama... Sanki... (Yes... But... As If...)'', 209 pp., 3rd edition 2004, * 2002 ''Kadın Bedenini Soyarsa (Undressing Herself)'', 328 pp., 5th edition 2005, * 2003 ''Yeter Tenimi Acıtmayın (Stop Hurting My Flesh)'', 327 pp., 6th edition 2007, * 2005 ''Zaten Yoksunuz (You Exist In No Way)'', 278 pp., 4th edition 2005, * 2006 ''Umut Lanettir (Hope is a Curse)'', 263 pp., 2nd edition 2006, * 2009 ''Özlemin Beni Savuran (Your Yearning That Sways Me)'', 190 pp., * 2015 ''Erospa'', Akılçelen Publications * 2018 ''Tek Bildikleri Aşktı'', Eksik Parça Publications

Non-fiction

* 2008 ''Beden Biliyor (The Body Knows)'', 139 pp., 3rd edition 2008,

Theatrical plays

* 2007 ''I'm Breaking the Game'' (a.k.a. I'm Spoiling the Game) Text: Meltem Arıkan (Oyunu Bozuyorum) * 2009 ''Parallel'' Dramaturgy: Meltem Arıkan * 2012–2013 '' Mi Minör'' * 2017 ''Enough is Enough'', Wales

Journalism

* 2007 - columns at monthly magazine ''Kazete''Meltem Arıkan's monthly column articles in Kazete

Awards and honours

* 2014, “Freedom of Expression in Arts Award” shortlisted by

Index On Censorship Index on Censorship is an organization campaigning for freedom of expression, which produces a quarterly magazine of the same name from London. It is directed by the non-profit-making Writers and Scholars International, Ltd (WSI) in association w ...

* 2013, Mi Minör, “Best Play of the Year” nomination at Lions Theatrical Awards * 2012, Mi Minör, “Best Play of the Year” prize by Readers of Radikal Newspaper * 2007 VIII. Lions Theatre Awards, Unique New Play Award (with ''Oyunu Bozuyorum - I'm Breaking the Game'') * 2004

Turkish Publishers Association {{Primary sources, date=February 2021 The Turkish Publishers Association ( tr, Türkiye Yayıncılar Birliği, TYB) is the oldest national association for publishers in Turkey. It was founded in 1985, and in 2013 counted around 300 publishing compa ...

's Freedom of Statement and Idea Award (with ''Yeter Tenimi Acıtmayın - Stop Hurting My Flesh'') * 2003 Nigde University Talebe Journal's Best Female Writer Award (with ''Kadın Bedenini Soyarsa - Undressing Herself'')

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arikan, Meltem 1968 births Living people Turkish novelists Turkish dramatists and playwrights Turkish non-fiction writers Censorship in Turkey Turkish women novelists Turkish women's rights activists People from Ankara Women dramatists and playwrights