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Yaşar Kemal (born Kemal Sadık Gökçeli; 6 October 1923 – 28 February 2015) was a Turkish writer and human rights activist and one of Turkey's leading writers. He received 38 awards during his lifetime and had been a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature on the strength of ''
Memed, My Hawk ''Memed, My Hawk'' ( tr, İnce Memed, meaning "Memed, the Slim") is a 1955 novel by Yaşar Kemal. It was Kemal's debut novel and is the first novel in his İnce Memed tetralogy. The novel won the Varlık Prize for that year (Turkey's highest lite ...
''. An outspoken intellectual, he often did not hesitate to speak about sensitive issues, especially those concerning the oppression of the Kurdish people. He was tried in 1995 under anti-terror laws for an article he wrote for '' Der Spiegel'' highlighting the Turkish Army's destruction of Kurdish villages during the Turkish-Kurdish conflict. He was released but later received a suspended 20-month jail sentence for another article he wrote criticising
racism in Turkey In Turkey, racism and ethnic discrimination are present in its society and throughout its history, including institutional racism against non-Muslim and non-Sunni minorities. This appears mainly in the form of negative attitudes and actions by ...
, especially against the Kurds. Kemal was a major contributor to Turkish literature in the early years after Turkish fell into decline as a literary language after Atatürk's language reforms of the 1930s.


Early life and education

He was born Kemal Sadik Gökçeli to Sadık and Nigâr on 6 October 1923 in Hemite (now
Gökçedam Gökçedam (also known as Hemite) is a village in the central district of Osmaniye province, Turkey. The village is inhabited by Turkmens. It was the birthplace of the famous Turkish novelist of Kurdish origin Yaşar Kemal. Its most conspicuous fea ...
), a Turkmen hamlet in the province of Osmaniye in southern Turkey. He was born into the only Kurdish family in the village but didn't face discrimination despite his ethnic difference. According to Kemal, some of his family members came from the Caucasus, while some were of
Assyrian Assyrian may refer to: * Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia. * Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire. ** Early Assyrian Period ** Old Assyrian Period ** Middle Assyrian Empire ** Neo-Assyrian Empire * Assyri ...
origin. Kemal had a difficult childhood, and his family had to flee from Van province to
Diyarbakır province Diyarbakır Province ( tr, Diyarbakır ili, Zazaki: Suke Diyarbekır ku, Parêzgeha Amedê) is a province in southeastern Turkey. The province covers an area of 15,355 km2 and its population is 1,528,958. The provincial capital is the city ...
. From there, they were deported to
Adana province Adana Province ( tr, ) is a province of Turkey located in central Cilicia. With a population of 2.26 million, it is the sixth most populous province in Turkey. The administrative seat of the province is the city of Adana, home to 79% of th ...
. He lost his right eye in a knife accident while his father was slaughtering a sheep for
Eid al-Adha Eid al-Adha () is the second and the larger of the two main holidays celebrated in Islam (the other being Eid al-Fitr). It honours the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son Ismail (Ishmael) as an act of obedience to Allah's c ...
. When he was five years old he witnessed his father being stabbed to death by his adoptive son Yusuf while praying in a mosque. These traumatic experiences left Kemal with a
speech impediment Speech disorders or speech impairments are a type of communication disorder in which normal speech is disrupted. This can mean stuttering, lisps, etc. Someone who is unable to speak due to a speech disorder is considered mute. Speech skills ar ...
, which lasted until he was twelve years old. At nine, Kemal began school in a neighbouring village; he continued his formal education in
Kadirli Kadirli, formerly called Kars, is a town and district of Osmaniye Province in the Mediterranean region of Turkey. It is located in the Çukurova plain, from the large city of Osmaniye. Population is 84,618 (urban) and 120,950 (including rural are ...
in
Osmaniye province Osmaniye Province ( tr, ) is a province in south-central Turkey. It was named Cebel-i Bereket () in the early republic until 1933, when it was incorporated into Adana Province. It was made a province again in 1996. It covers an area of 3,767&nbs ...
. Kemal was a locally noted bard even before he began school but was unappreciated by his widowed mother until he composed an elegy on the death of one of her eight brothers, all of whom were bandits. He became interested in writing as a means to record his work after talking to an itinerant peddler, who was doing his accounts. His village paid his way to university in Istanbul. He worked for a while for rich farmers as a labourer in the
Çukurova Çukurova () or the Cilician Plain (''Cilicia Pedias'' in antiquity), is a large fertile plain in the Cilicia region of southern Turkey. The plain covers the easternmost areas of Mersin Province, southern and central Adana Province, western Osman ...
cotton fields, ostensibly guarding river water against poor farmers' unauthorised use for irrigation. However, he actually taught the poor farmers how to steal the water undetected, by taking it at night. Later he worked as a letter-writer, then as a journalist, and finally as a novelist. The Turkish police confiscated his first two novels. In 1950, Kemal was imprisoned for alleged communist activities. He visited
Akdamar Island Akdamar Island ( tr, Akdamar Adası, ku, Girava Axtamarê), also known as Aghtamar ( hy, Աղթամար, translit=Aġt’amar) or Akhtamar ( hy, Ախթամար, translit=Axt’amar), is the second largest of the four islands in Lake Van, in east ...
in 1951, where he saw the beginning of the planned demolition of the island's Holy Cross Church. Using his contacts, he helped stop the demolition (the church was restored by the Turkish government in 2005).


Professional and political career

He then moved to Istanbul to work for the ''
Cumhuriyet ''Cumhuriyet'' (; English: " Republic") is the oldest up-market Turkish daily newspaper. It has been described as "the most important independent public interest newspaper in contemporary Turkey". The newspaper was awarded the ''Freedom of Pr ...
'' newspaper, where he adopted his pen name. In 1962, Kemal joined the Workers Party of Turkey (TİP) and "served as one of its leaders until quitting after the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968". In 1967, Kemal established the Marxist magazine
Ant Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of 22,0 ...
together with Dogan Özgüden and . The magazine published articles about Engels,
Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...
, Ho Chi Minh and
Che Guevara Ernesto Che Guevara (; 14 June 1928The date of birth recorded on /upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Ernesto_Guevara_Acta_de_Nacimiento.jpg his birth certificatewas 14 June 1928, although one tertiary source, (Julia Constenla, quoted ...
. In the aftermath of the military coup in 1971, the magazine was closed during the crackdown on left-wing politicians. Because of the spate of political assassinations during the 1976–1980 political violence in Turkey, Kemal moved to Sweden for a time. He was often arrested for his political activities. In 1995, he was prosecuted for making separatist propaganda after writing an article for Index on Censorship, because of his support for Kurdish dissidents. He was sentenced to 20 months and received a suspended sentence in March 1996. In December 2000, he was involved in negotiations over the hunger strikes against the
F-Type prisons F-Type-Prisons, officially called F-type High Security Closed Institutions for the Execution of Sentences (''F tipi cezaevi / F Tipi Yüksek Güvenlikli Kapalı Ceza İnfaz Kurumu''), are high-security prisons designated by Turkish Law 5275 on the ...
.


Later years and death

On 14 January 2015 Kemal was hospitalised at
Istanbul University , image = Istanbul_University_logo.svg , image_size = 200px , latin_name = Universitas Istanbulensis , motto = tr, Tarihten Geleceğe Bilim Köprüsü , mottoeng = Science Bridge from Past to the Future , established = 1453 1846 1933 ...
's Çapa Medical Faculty, due to respiratory insufficiency. During the afternoon of 28 February 2015, he died in the intensive care unit, where he had been admitted for multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, Following a religious funeral service held at
Teşvikiye Mosque The Teşvikiye Mosque is a neo-baroque structure located in the Teşvikiye neighbourhood of Şişli district in Istanbul, Turkey. History The mosque was originally commissioned in 1794 by Sultan Selim III, but most of the current mosque that s ...
, attended by former Turkish president
Abdullah Gül Abdullah Gül (; ; born 29 October 1950) is a Turkish politician who served as the 11th President of Turkey, in office from 2007 to 2014. He previously served for four months as Prime Minister from 2002 to 2003, and concurrently served as both ...
, political party leaders, high-ranking officials and an enormous assembly of mourners, he was buried on 2 March 2015 beside his first wife Thilda's grave in
Zincirlikuyu Cemetery __NOTOC__ The Zincirlikuyu Cemetery ( tr, Zincirlikuyu Mezarlığı) is a modern burial ground residing on the European part of Istanbul, Turkey. It is administered by the Metropolitan Municipality. Many prominent figures from the world of polit ...
. Kemal was survived by his wife Ayşe Semiha Baban and his adoptive son, visual artist Ahmet Güneştekin.


Works

In 1943 Kemal published his first book ''Ağıtlar'' ("Ballads"), a compilation of folkloric themes. This book brought to light many long-forgotten rhymes and ballads, which he had begun to collect at the age of sixteen. He penned his first tale ''Pis Hikaye'' ("The Dirty Story") in 1944 while serving in the military in
Kayseri Kayseri (; el, Καισάρεια) is a large industrialised city in Central Anatolia, Turkey, and the capital of Kayseri province. The Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality area is composed of five districts: the two central districts of Kocasina ...
. His stories ''Bebek'' ("The Baby"), ''Dükkancı'' ("The Shopkeeper") and ''Memet ile Memet'' ("Memet and Memet") were published in 1950. Then he published a book of short stories '' Sarı Sıcak'' ("Yellow Heat") in 1952. His books initially focused on the lives, sufferings and toil of the people of the
Çukurova Çukurova () or the Cilician Plain (''Cilicia Pedias'' in antiquity), is a large fertile plain in the Cilicia region of southern Turkey. The plain covers the easternmost areas of Mersin Province, southern and central Adana Province, western Osman ...
plain. Kemal used the legends and stories of Anatolia extensively as the basis for his works. In 1955 he received international acclaim with the publication of ''
Memed, My Hawk ''Memed, My Hawk'' ( tr, İnce Memed, meaning "Memed, the Slim") is a 1955 novel by Yaşar Kemal. It was Kemal's debut novel and is the first novel in his İnce Memed tetralogy. The novel won the Varlık Prize for that year (Turkey's highest lite ...
'' ( tr, İnce Memed). In this book Kemal criticised the fabric of society via a protagonist who flees to the mountains as a result of the oppression of the ağas. One of the most famous writers in Turkey, Kemal was noted for his command of the language and his lyrical descriptions of Turkish rural life. He won nineteen literary prizes over his lifetime and was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1973. His 1955 novel ''
Teneke ''Teneke'' is an opera in three acts by Italian composer Fabio Vacchi. Franco Marcoaldi adapted the Italian language, Italian libretto from the Teneke (novel), eponymous novel by the Turkish people, Turkish author Yaşar Kemal published in 1955. ...
'' was adapted into a theatrical play, which ran for almost a year in Gothenburg, in Sweden, the country in which he lived for about two years in the late 1970s. Italian composer Fabio Vacchi adapted the same novel with its original title into a three-act opera, which premiered at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy, in 2007.


Personal life

In 1952, Yaşar Kemal married Thilda Serrero, a member of a prominent
Sephardi Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefa ...
Jewish family in Istanbul. Her grandfather, Jak Mandil Pasha, was the chief physician of the Ottoman Sultan
Abdul Hamid II Abdülhamid or Abdul Hamid II ( ota, عبد الحميد ثانی, Abd ül-Hamid-i Sani; tr, II. Abdülhamid; 21 September 1842 10 February 1918) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 31 August 1876 to 27 April 1909, and the last sultan to ...
. She translated seventeen of her husband’s works into English.
Alt URL
/ref> In 2001 Thilda predeceased Yaşar, dying, aged 78, from
pulmonary The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in humans and most other animals, including some snails and a small number of fish. In mammals and most other vertebrates, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of ...
complications in an Istanbul hospital. She was buried in
Zincirlikuyu Cemetery __NOTOC__ The Zincirlikuyu Cemetery ( tr, Zincirlikuyu Mezarlığı) is a modern burial ground residing on the European part of Istanbul, Turkey. It is administered by the Metropolitan Municipality. Many prominent figures from the world of polit ...
. Thilda was also survived by her son Raşit Göğçel and a grandchild. Yaşar Kemal remarried on 1 August 2002. His second spouse was Ayşe Semiha Baban, a lecturer in public relations at Istanbul Bilgi University in Istanbul who had been educated at the American University of Beirut,
Boğaziçi University Boğaziçi University ( tr, Boğaziçi Üniversitesi), also known as Bosphorus University, is a major research university in Istanbul, Turkey. Its main campus is located on the European side of the Bosphorus strait. It has six faculties and t ...
and Harvard University.


Bibliography

Stories * ''Sarı Sıcak'', ("Yellow Heat") (1952).''Büyük Larousse'', vol. 24, p. 12448, Milliyet, "Yaşar Kemal" Novels * ''İnce Memed'' (''
Memed, My Hawk ''Memed, My Hawk'' ( tr, İnce Memed, meaning "Memed, the Slim") is a 1955 novel by Yaşar Kemal. It was Kemal's debut novel and is the first novel in his İnce Memed tetralogy. The novel won the Varlık Prize for that year (Turkey's highest lite ...
'') (1955) * ''
Teneke ''Teneke'' is an opera in three acts by Italian composer Fabio Vacchi. Franco Marcoaldi adapted the Italian language, Italian libretto from the Teneke (novel), eponymous novel by the Turkish people, Turkish author Yaşar Kemal published in 1955. ...
'' (''The Drumming-Out'') (1955) * ''Orta Direk'' (''The Wind from the Plain'') (1960) * ''Yer Demir Gök Bakır'' (''Iron Earth, Copper Sky'') (1963) * ''Ölmez Otu'' (''The Undying Grass'') (1968) * ''Ince Memed II'' (''
They Burn the Thistles ''They Burn the Thistles'' – Ince Memed II ( tr, İnce Memed means ''Memed the Thin'') is a 1969 novel by Yaşar Kemal. It was Kemal's second novel in his İnce Memed tetralogy. The first Ince Memed novel won the Varlik prize for that year (Tu ...
'') (1969) * ''Akçasazın Ağaları/Demirciler Çarşısı Cinayeti'' (''The Agas of Akchasaz Trilogy''/''Murder in the Ironsmiths Market'') (1974) * ''Akçasazın Ağaları/Yusufcuk Yusuf'' (''The Agas of Akchasaz Trilogy''/''Yusuf, Little Yusuf'') (1975) * ''Yılanı Öldürseler'' (''To Crush the Serpent'') (1976) * ''Al Gözüm Seyreyle Salih'' (''The Saga of a Seagull'') (1976) * ''Allahın Askerleri'' (''God’s Soldiers'') (1978) * ''Kuşlar da Gitti'' (''The Birds Have Also Gone: Long Stories'') (1978) * ''Deniz Küstü'' (''The Sea-Crossed Fisherman'') (1978) * ''Hüyükteki Nar Ağacı'' (''The Pomegranate on the Knoll'') (1982) * ''Yağmurcuk Kuşu/Kimsecik I'' (''Kimsecik I – Little Nobody I'' (1980); also published as "Salman the Solitary" (1997) * ''Kale Kapısı/Kimsecik II'' (''Kimsecik II – Little Nobody II'')(1985) * ''Kanın Sesi/Kimsecik III'' (''Kimsecik III – Little Nobody III'') (1991) * ''Fırat Suyu Kan Akıyor Baksana'' (''Look, the Euphrates is Flowing with Blood'') (1997) * ''Karıncanın Su İçtiği'' (''Ant Drinking Water'') (2002) * ''Tanyeri Horozları'' (''The Cocks of Dawn'') (2002) Epic Novels * ''Üç Anadolu Efsanesi'' (''Three Anatolian Legends'') (1967) * ''Ağrıdağı Efsanesi'' (''The Legend of Mount Ararat'') (1970) – the base of the opera '' Ağrı Dağı Efsanesi'' 1971 * ''Binboğalar Efsanesi'' (''The Legend of the Thousand Bulls'') (1971) * ''Çakırcalı Efe*'' (''The Life Stories of the Famous Bandit Çakircali'') (1972) Reportages * ''Yanan Ormanlarda 50 Gün'' (''Fifty Days in the Burning Forests'') (1955) * ''Çukurova Yana Yana'' (''While Çukurova Burns'') (1955) * ''Peribacaları'' (''The Fairy Chimneys'') (1957) * ''Bu Diyar Baştan Başa'' (''Collected reportages'') (1971) * ''Bir Bulut Kaynıyor'' (''Collected reportages'') (1974) Experimental Works * ''Ağıtlar'' (''Ballads'') (1943) * ''Taş Çatlasa'' (''At Most'') (1961) * ''Baldaki Tuz'' (''The Salt in the Honey'') (1959–74 newspaper articles) * ''Gökyüzü Mavi Kaldı'' (''The Sky remained Blue'') (collection of folk literature in collaboration with S. Eyüboğlu) * ''Ağacın Çürüğü'' (''The Rotting Tree'') (Articles and Speeches) (1980) * ''Yayımlanmamış 10 Ağıt'' (''10 Unpublished Ballads'') (1985) * ''Sarı Defterdekiler'' (''Contents of the Yellow Notebook'') (Collected Folkloric works) (1997) * ''Ustadır Arı'' (''The Expert Bee'') (1995) * ''Zulmün Artsın'' (''Increase Your Oppression'') (1995) Children's Books * ''Filler Sultanı ile Kırmızı Sakallı Topal Karınca'' (''The Sultan of the Elephants and the Red-Bearded Lame Ant'') (1977)


Awards and distinctions


Literature prizes

* "Seven Days in the World's Largest Farm" reportage series, Journalist's Association Prize, 1955Altınkaynak, Hikmet (2007). ''Türk edebiyatında yazarlar ve şairler sözlüğü'', Doğan Kitap
p. 736
/ref> * Varlik Prize for ''Ince Memed'' ("Memed, My Hawk"), 1956 * Ilhan Iskender Award for the play adapted from his book of the same name, ''Teneke'' ("The Drumming-Out"), 1966 * The International Nancy Theatre Festival – First Prize for ''Uzun Dere'' ("Long Brook"), 1966 -Theater adaptation from roman Iron Earth, Copper Sky. * Madarli Novel Award for ''Demirciler Çarşısı'' ("Murder in the Ironsmith's Market"), 1974 * Choix du Syndicat des Critiques Littéraires pour le meilleur roman etranger (Eté/Automne 1977) pour ''Terre de Fer, Ciel de Cuivre'' ("Yer Demir, Gök Bakır") * Prix du Meilleur Livre Etranger 1978 pour ''L'Herbe qui ne meurt pas'' (''Ölmez Otu''); Paris, Janvier 1979. *
Prix mondial Cino Del Duca The Prix mondial Cino Del Duca (Cino Del Duca World Prize) is an international literary award. With an award amount of , it is among the richest literary prizes. Origins and operations It was established in 1969 in France by Simone Del Duca (1 ...
decerné pour contributions a l'humanisme moderne; Paris, Octobre 1982. * The Sedat Simavi Foundation Award for Literature; Istanbul, Turkey, 1985. * Premi Internacional Catalunya. Catalonia (Spain), 1996 * Lillian Hellman/Dashiell Hammett Award for Courage in Response to Repression, Human Rights Watch, USA, 1996.''Friedenspreis des Deutschen Buchhandels 1997: Yasar Kemal'', Buchhändler-Vereinigung
p. 63
* Stig Dagerman Prize ( sv, Stig Dagermanpriset), Sweden, 1997. * Friedenspreis des Deutschen Buchhandels, Frankfurt, Germany, 1997. * International Nonino Prize for his collected works, Italy, 1997 * Bordeaux, Prix Ecureuit de Littérature Etrangère, 1998 * Z. Homer Poetry Award, 2003 * Savanos Prize (Thessaloniki-Greece), 2003 * Turkish Publishers' Association Lifetime Achievement Award, 2003 * Presidential Cultural and Artistic Grand Prize, 2008 * The Bjørnson Prize ( no, Bjørnsonprisen), Norway, 2013.


Decorations

* Commandeur de la
Légion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...
de France; Paris, 1984. * Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres, Paris, 1989. * Grand Officier de la
Légion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...
de France; Paris, 2011. * Krikor Naregatsi Medal of Armenia, 2013.


Honorary Doctorates

*
Doctor Honoris Causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...
, Strasbourg University, France, 1991.Çiftlikçi 1997
p. 29
/ref> *
Doctor Honoris Causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...
,
Akdeniz University Akdeniz University ( tr, Akdeniz Üniversitesi) is a public research university established in Antalya, Turkey. It has been chosen as the second most beautiful university in Turkey, after Boğaziçi University, with its campus having a wide and ...
, Antalya, Turkey, 1992. * Honorary Doctorate,
Bilkent University Bilkent University ( tr, Bilkent Üniversitesi) is a private university located in Ankara, Turkey. It was founded by Prof. İhsan Doğramacı in 1984, with the aim of creating a center of excellence in higher education and research. It is constan ...
, Ankara, Turkey, 2002 * Honorary Doctorate,
Çukurova University Çukurova University ( tr, Çukurova Üniversitesi) is a public university in Adana, Turkey. The university has sixteen faculties, three colleges, seven vocational colleges, three institutes and twenty six research and application centers. ...
, Adana, Turkey, 2009 * Honorary Doctorate,
Boğaziçi University Boğaziçi University ( tr, Boğaziçi Üniversitesi), also known as Bosphorus University, is a major research university in Istanbul, Turkey. Its main campus is located on the European side of the Bosphorus strait. It has six faculties and t ...
, Istanbul, Turkey, 2009 * Honorary Doctorate, Istanbul Bilgi University, Istanbul, Turkey, 2014


References


Obituary – New York Times
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kemal, Yasar 1923 births 2015 deaths Mass media freedom in Turkey Turkish Kurdish people People from Gökçedam Turkish novelists Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur Turkish prisoners and detainees Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Deaths from multiple organ failure Burials at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery 20th-century novelists