Zaimoglu feridun koeln buchhandlung klaus bittner

Feridun Zaimoğlu (born 4 December 1964, in

Bolu Bolu is a city in northern Turkey, and administrative center of the Bolu Province and of Bolu District,Turkish descent. His central themes are the problems of the second and third generation of Turkish immigrants to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Life

Feridun Zaimoğlu, born in

Bolu Bolu is a city in northern Turkey, and administrative center of the Bolu Province and of Bolu District,Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, came to Germany with his parents in 1965. Until 1985 he lived in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, and then began studying medicine and arts in

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

, where he is still living. He works as an author and journalist. His essays and critiques of literary have appeared in leading German newspapers, such as

Die Zeit (, ) is a German national weekly newspaper published in Hamburg in Germany. The newspaper is generally considered to be among the German newspapers of record and is known for its long and extensive articles. History The first edition of was ...

Die Welt (, ) is a German national daily newspaper, published as a broadsheet by Axel Springer SE. is the flagship newspaper of the Axel Springer publishing group and it is considered a newspaper of record in Germany. Its leading competitors are the ...

, SPEX and the

Tagesspiegel (meaning ''The Daily Mirror'') is a German daily newspaper. It has regional correspondent offices in Washington, D.C., and Potsdam. It is the only major newspaper in the capital to have increased its circulation, now 148,000, since reunification ...

. From 1999 to 2000 he worked in

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...

at the National theatre. In 2003 he became ''Island poet'' on the island of

Sylt Sylt (; ; Söl'ring North Frisian: ) is an island in northern Germany, part of Nordfriesland district, Schleswig-Holstein, with a distinctively shaped shoreline. It belongs to the North Frisian Islands and is the largest island in North Fris ...

, and in 2004 he was a visiting fellow at the

Freie Universität Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public university, public research university in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in West Berlin in 1948 with American support during the early Cold War period a ...

. His first book " Kanak Sprak" 1995 attempts to express the authentic, tough and subversive power of slang language spoken by Turkish male youths in Germany, and calls for a new self-confidence. The grotesque figure of the maganda – as can also be traced in popular satirical Turkish magazines – emerges as an "important medium for the formulation of new gender identities, urban subjectivities, and class relations" (Ayse Oncu in References 1, p. 187) His book became inspirational for the group "kanak attak". In 2005, his ''installation of flags'' with the title "KanakAttak – The 3rd Turkish siege of Vienna" was exhibited at the

Kunsthalle Wien Kunsthalle Wien is the city of Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city ...

, an art gallery in Vienna. It refers to the Siege of

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

(17 July – 12 September 1683) that was an expedition by the Turks against the Habsburg Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I that ended in their defeat. In his latest book, ''Leyla'', he describes the life in a small Turkish village. It is a kind of 'reinvention' after years of writing in an explicitly male style, as he takes first time in his writing career the female viewpoint. In an interview he describes that it took him one and a half years to prepare for this fiction novel that he finished in 2004 and which is published in 2006.

Kanak Attak

The group that Feridun Zaimoğlu helped to start is a "broadly-based anti-racist project" made up of "different people from diverse backgrounds who share a commitment to eradicate racism from German society". This broad base allows Germans of all colors and ethnicities to join in working toward the cause of ending "the assignment of ethnic identities and roles; the 'we' and 'them'". Although this abandonment of the 'we' and 'them' may seem like the first step toward allowing Turkish-Germans, in addition to other ethnic groups that have come to Germany as migrant workers, to assimilate into German society and the German culture, that is hardly the case. The "anti-assimilationalist stance represented by 'Kanak Attak'" shows up throughout their writings, such as when they reject people and groups who tell them " who does not want to 'adapt' (read assimilate) into the open society has no business in enlightened Germany". Instead, Kanak Attak believes that there can be an enlightened Germany without erasing the cultures and backgrounds of the foreigners. The group believes that "the idea that the 'mixture of people' must somehow be regulated and controlled" is wrong as well, and instead feels that there should be no distinctions made on race at all. Another contradiction that the anti-racist group faces is the fact that, despite their ties to the

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

generation and its struggles and beliefs, Kanak Attak takes special measures to distance itself from hip-hop. Feridun Zaimoğlu, the "spiritual leader" of the group uses the same language in his writing that is "spoken by the disenfranchised youth of the hip-hop generation". However, the group seems intent on destroying any preconceptions that the group is linked to hip-hop when they write that Kanak Attak "should not be seen as the 'cool voice' of the

ghetto A ghetto is a part of a city in which members of a minority group are concentrated, especially as a result of political, social, legal, religious, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished than other ...

". Once again, Kanak Attak takes offense at this generalization that is offered up by the "commercial vultures of the cultural industries", just as it takes offense at any attempt to push

cultural assimilation Cultural assimilation is the process in which a minority group or culture comes to resemble a society's Dominant culture, majority group or fully adopts the values, behaviors, and beliefs of another group. The melting pot model is based on this ...

or mixing on the group and its members. Although there are a few contradictions in its doctrine, Kanak Attak represents the growing anti-racist movement in Germany among immigrants who want to be German but also wish to retain their own cultural heritage.

Books

*'' Kanak Sprak'', 1995, *''Abschaum''. Novel, 1997, (2000 as film with the title ''Kanak Attak'') *''Koppstoff'', 1999, *''Liebesmale, scharlachrot''. Novel, 2000, *''Kopf und Kragen''. 2001, *''German Amok''. Novel, 2002, *''Leinwand''. Novel, 2003, *''Twelve Grams of Happiness''. Stories, 2004, *''Leyla''. Novel, 2006,

Awards and prizes

*1997

Civis Media Prize The CIVIS Media Prize for Integration and Cultural Diversity in Europe, or CIVIS Media Prize for short, was founded in 1987 by the Federal Government Commissioner for Foreigners' Issues together with ARD (broadcaster), ARD, under the responsibilit ...

*1998 ''Screen play Prize'' of

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...

/Germany *2002 *2003 ''Prize of the Jury'' at the Ingeborg-Bachmann-Competition for his narrative ''Häute'' (skins)(Published in his volume ''Zwölf Gramm Glück'') *2005

Adelbert von Chamisso Prize The Adelbert von Chamisso Prize () was a German literary award established in 1985, given to a work whose author's mother tongue is not German, as was the case for Adelbert von Chamisso. It was offered by the Robert Bosch Stiftung. In addition to ...

*2005

Villa Massimo Villa Massimo, short for Deutsche Akademie Rom Villa Massimo (), is a German cultural institution in Rome, established in 1910 and located in the Villa Massimo. The fellowship of the German Academy in Rome, often referred to as the German Rome P ...

, Rome – Scholarship *2005 Hugo Ball Prize of the City of

Pirmasens Pirmasens (; (also ''Bermesens'' or ''Bärmasens'')) is an independent town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, near the border with France. It was famous for the manufacture of shoes. The surrounding rural district was called ''Landkreis Pirmasens ...

*2007 Carl-Amery-Literaturpreis *2007 Grimmelshausen-Preis *2023 Brothers Grimm Poetics Professorship *2025 Walter Kempowski Preis für biografische Literatur"Niedersächsischer Literaturpreis für Feridun Zaimoglu"
wdr.de, 28 May 2025 (in German). Retrieved 28 May 2025.

References

External links