| ORHAN PAMUK, WINNER OF THE NOBEL PRIZE FOR LITERATURE IN 2006, VISITS ROMANIA 24/04/2008 |
| (2008-04-24) |
| Last updated: 2008-04-25 14:45 EET |
The Turkish writer received the title of Doctor Honoris Causa from Bucharest University and on Wednesday evening he participated in a meeting with his readers at the Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest. “Men of letters write for all the readers of the world, not only for the readers of their own country“ said Orhan Pamuk during the ceremony where he received the title of Doctor Honoris Causa. This was granted “in recognition of his original contribution to the development of literature and of his firm ethical convictions.” Acknowledged as the most important and controversial Turkish contemporary writer, Pamuk was sued by the authorities in his country for denouncing Ankara‘s stance on the Armenian genocide and the Kurdish issue. Supported by international public opinion, the writer was the target of assassination attempts in his own country.
Born in Istanbul in 1952, Orhan Pamuk took up writing after having studied painting and journalism. His first novel, “Cevdet Bey and His Sons“, was published in 1982. Ever since, Pamuk has been awarded numerous prestigious prizes, among them Prix de la Decouverte Europeenne, Prix du Meilleur Livre Etranger, the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, Prix Medicis Etranger and two years ago, the Nobel Prize for Literature.
For a few years now, the Turkish writer has held courses of comparative literature in New York, upon the invitation of Columbia University. The Curtea Veche Publishing House, the exclusive copyright holders for his work in Romania, has sold more than 60 thousand copies of his works. The series of books by Orhan Pamuk published in Romania opens with the volume “My name is Red “ that was brought out in August 2006, before the writer won the Nobel Prize for Literature. The other books that have come out in Romania are “the New Life”, “The White Castle“, and “The Black Book “.
The Romanian version of the political novel “ Snow “ is to be launched during the BOOKfest fair in Bucharest this June. Orhan Pamuk‘s visit to Romania also includes a panel discussion attended by Norman Manea - one of the Romanian writers who has the largest numbers of books translated and who has received the largest number of prizes. Italian writer, Antonio Tabucchi, was also present. In 2007, Orhan Pamuk‘s presence on the jury of the Cannes Film Festival was of good omen for the Romanian film industry. Cristian Mungiu’s film ‘4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days’ won the Palme D’or prize for feature films, and has been extremely well received all over the world.
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2025-04-03
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