Perihan Mağden (born 24 August 1960) is a Turkish writer. She was a columnist for the newspaper ''

Taraf ''Taraf'' ("Side" in Turkish) was a liberal newspaper in Turkey. It had distinguished itself by opposing interference by the Turkish military in the country's social and political affairs. It was distributed nationwide, and had been in circula ...

''. She was tried and acquitted for calling for opening the possibility of

conscientious objection A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...

to mandatory military service in Turkey.

Biography

Mağden was born in 1960 in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. She is Georgian on her father’s side, and half Russian/Balkan on her mother's side. After graduating from

Robert College The American Robert College of Istanbul ( or ), often abbreviated as Robert or RC, is a Selective school, highly selective, Independent school, independent, mixed-sex education, co-educational, Education in Turkey#Private schools, private Second ...

of Istanbul, she studied psychology at

Boğaziçi University Boğaziçi University (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Boğaziçi Üniversitesi''), also known as Bosphorus University, is a Public university, public research university in Istanbul, Turkey, historically tied to a former American educational insti ...

. By her own account, she was an unruly student—and her mother was proud of it. One of the most famous writers in young Turkish literature, Perihan Magden has spent some time at

Yaddo Yaddo is an artists' community located on a estate in Saratoga Springs, New York. Its mission is "to nurture the creative process by providing an opportunity for artists to work without interruption in a supportive environment.". On March ...

, the famous artists' community. Mağden is a single mother who lives in Istanbul. In addition to writing editorial columns for Turkish newspapers (including ''

Radikal ''Radikal'' () was a daily liberal Turkish language newspaper, published in Istanbul. From 1996 it was published by Aydın Doğan's Doğan Media Group. Although Radikal did not endorse a particular political alignment, it was generally consider ...

'', 2001 - 2008), Mağden has also published fictional

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

s and a collection of

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

. Mağden's novel '' İki Genç Kızın Romanı'' (''Two Girls''), published in 2005 by Serpent's Tail, was praised for pushing "Turkish beyond its conventional literary patterns" and compared to J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye for the way she had captured adolescent anguish. She spent some years in far east countries. Her novel "Two Girls" has been a big success in homeland Turkey and became an award winning movie premiered in Europe in London Film Festival right after Sydney. She is the author of "Messenger Boy Murders" (''Haberci Çocuk Cinayetleri''), "The Companion" (''Refakatçi'') and "Escape" (''Biz kimden kaciyorduk, Anne?''). Her latest novel " Ali and Ramazan" published in 2010 in Turkish and now out by Suhrkamp (German) and AmazonCrossing (USA). Her latest essays on Turkey are collected under the title "Political Essays" (''Politik Yazılar''). Her novels have been translated into 19 languages including English, French, German, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Greek and Russian.

Activism

Mağden is one of several journalists and writers charged for "threatening Turkey's unity or the integrity of the state."Boland, Vincent.
Turkish journalist in court for 'undermining armed forces'
, ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'', 7 June 2006. After the

assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

of Hrant Dink, she was offered security protection. In December 2007, she received a fourteen-month

suspended sentence A suspended sentence is a sentence on conviction for a criminal offence, the serving of which the court orders to be deferred in order to allow the defendant to perform a period of probation. If the defendant does not break the law during that ...

for insulting Aytaç Gül, then governor of Yüksekova. In early 2016 Mağden was charged with “insult to the President” (art. 301 of the Turkish Penal Code), having commented in an interview about the September 2015 confiscation of Nokta Mag that Erdoğan “is behaving like a wild tiger, a wild animal in a corner”. The journalist interviewing her, Tunca Öğreten, was charged too for publishing the words. Mağden denied accusations saying that “as a writer I have applied a literary form of similitude while criticizing the raiding of the Nokta Mag.” They risk up to 4 years in prison. The first trial will take place in Istanbul on 12 May 2016.

Conscientious objection lawsuit

Mağden was prosecuted by the Turkish government in relation to a December 2005 column in the weekly news magazine ''Yeni Aktuel''. In the column she strongly defended the actions of Mehmet Tarhan, a young Turkish man jailed for his refusal to perform mandatory military service. In this column, titled "Conscientious Objection is a Human Right", Mağden stated that the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

acknowledges conscientious objection as a

human right Human rights are universally recognized moral principles or norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both national and international laws. These rights are considered inherent and inalienable, meaning t ...

. In response to the column, the Turkish military accused her of attempting to turn the Turkish people against military service and filed a complaint against her. A warrant was issued for her prosecution in April 2006 and her trial was in late July; the most severe sentence she could have faced if convicted under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code was three years' imprisonment. Under Turkish law, there is no provision for

to mandatory military service. When asked about her situation, Mağden replied, "It's shocking that they are putting me on trial. I've no idea what will happen. The case could finish tomorrow or it could stretch on and on. The unnerving thing about the courts is they are so unpredictable, it's like a lottery. It's torture." Her prosecution was criticized by

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

groups around the world. The

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

closely monitored the lawsuit. In a show of support for Mağden, newspapers in Turkey have republished the column that led to criminal charges against her. She was acquitted on 27 July 2006. The court concluded that she exercised her right of freedom of speech.

English language bibliography

Five of Mağden's novels have been published in English.

The Messenger Boy Murders

''The Messenger Boy Murders'' ( Turkish title: ''Haberci Çocuk Cinayetleri'') is a 1991 novel by Turkish writer and columnist Perihan Mağden republished in 2003 by Milet Books in English language translation by Richard Hamer. The publisher describes the novel as, "a darkly comic, irreverent and hypnotic tale, an exploration of humanity's endless absurdity and its futile attempts to create perfection, cleverly wrapped in a murder mystery," "from a popular and innovative Turkish author." Maureen Freely writing in ''

Cornucopia In classical antiquity, the cornucopia (; ), also called the horn of plenty, was a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers, or nuts. In Greek, it was called the " horn of ...

'' states, "Set in a city that feels Russian but is populated with Chinese names, full of nineteenth-century languor but speckled with Hollywood references and overshadowed by a villainous fertility expert, it is difficult to categorise, impossible to put down." A review in '' Sunday's Zaman'' states, "''The Messenger Boy Murders'', like life, unfolds its secrets one by one. What is the ultimate secret? Well, now, that would be telling!" ; Editions *

The Companion

''The Companion'' ( Turkish title: ''Refakatçi'') is 1994 novel by Turkish writer Perihan Mağden republished in 2015 by Everest Press in English translation by Deniz Erol.

2 Girls

'' 2 Girls'' ( Turkish title:''İki Genç Kızın Romanı'') is a 2002 novel by Turkish writer and columnist Perihan Mağden republished in 2005 by Serpent's Tail in English language translation by Brendan Freely. ;Editions *

Escape

''Escape'' (a.k.a. ''Whom Were We Running From?'', Turkish title: ''Biz Kimden Kaçıyorduk Anne'') is 2007 novel by Turkish writer Perihan Mağden republished in 2010 by Everest Press and in 2012 by AmazonCrossing in English translation by Kenneth Dakan. ;Editions * *

Ali and Ramazan

'' Ali and Ramazan'' ( Turkish title: ''Ali ile Ramazan'') is a 2010 novel by Turkish writer and columnist Perihan Mağden republished in 2012 by AmazonCrossing in English language translation by Ruth Whitehouse. Two boys from very different backgrounds land in the same Istanbul orphanage. They quickly see eye to eye and fall into a loving relationship as children, bringing light to one another and to the other orphans in their dreary adopted home. Ramazan is a charmer, the school master’s favorite (which we later learn is not such a positive thing), the clown among the boys, and the only one with a real handle on things outside the orphanage’s walls. He takes Ali under his wing, and by the time they turn eighteen and are loosed onto Istanbul's mean streets, Ali and Ramazan are a pair. What happens next is both tragic and beautiful, a testament to love finding its way even among the least visible citizens on Turkey’s mean streets. ;Editions *

On-line translations

* ''The Secret Meanings of Unappreciated Words'' at Boğaziçi Universit

and ''Words Without Borders'

* ''Kitchen Accidents'' at Boğaziçi Universit

* ''Courage Does Not Reign'' at Boğaziçi Universit

and ''Words Without Borders'

Awards

* Turkish Publishers Association's ''Freedom of Thought and Expression Prize'' (2008)

Selected bibliography

* ''Haberci Çocuk Cinayetleri'' (Messenger Boy Murders), 1991 * ''Refakatçi '' (The Companion),

, 1994 * ''Mutfak Kazaları'' (Kitchen Accidents).

collection, 1995 * ''Hiç Bunları Kendine Dert Etmeye Değer mi?'' (Is it Worth Bothering With These?), 1997 * ''Kapı Açık Arkanı Dön ve Çık'' (Turn Around and Walk Out the Door), 1998 * ''Fakat Ne Yazık ki Sokak Boştu'' (Unfortunately, However, The Street was Empty), 1999 * '' İki Genç Kızın Romanı'' (Two Girls), novel, 2002 * ''Politik Yazılar'' (Political Essays), Essays, 2006 * ''Biz Kimden Kaçıyorduk Anne?'' (Who Were We Running From, Mother?),

, 2007 * '' Ali and Ramazan'' (Ali ile Ramazan),

, 2010

References

External links

Columns for ''Radikal''

Perihan Magden in the documentary ''Istanbul: Truth, fear and the value of diversity''

Writer detail
{{DEFAULTSORT:Magden, Perihan 1960 births Living people Conscription in Turkey Mass media freedom in Turkey Robert College alumni Turkish columnists Turkish conscientious objectors Turkish atheists Turkish people of Georgian descent Taraf people Writers from Istanbul Turkish women writers Boğaziçi University alumni Radikal (newspaper) people Turkish women columnists Turkish former Sunni Muslims 20th-century Turkish journalists 21st-century Turkish journalists 20th-century Turkish women journalists 21st-century Turkish women journalists Turkish people of Russian descent