Yaşar Kemal (; born Kemal Sadık Gökçeli; 6 October 1923 – 28 February 2015) was a leading Turkish writer of Kurdish descent, who wrote in Turkish and a human rights activist. He received 38 awards during his lifetime and had been a candidate for the

Nobel Prize in Literature The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in ...

on the strength of his 1955 novel ''

Memed, My Hawk ''Memed, My Hawk'' () is a 1955 novel by Yaşar Kemal. It was Kemal's debut novel and the first novel in his İnce Memed tetralogy. The novel won the Varlık Prize for that year (Turkey's highest literary prize), and earned Kemal a national reput ...

''. 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 (, , stylized in all caps) is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of about 724,000 copies in 2022, it is one of the largest such publications in Europe. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...

'' highlighting the

Turkish Army The Turkish Land Forces () is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for Army, land-based military operations. The army was formed on November 8, 1920, after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Significant campaigns since the ...

'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, xenophobia and discrimination are present in its society and throughout its history, including ethnic discrimination, religious discrimination and institutional racism against non-Turkic peoples, Turkish, non-Kemalism, Kemalist, Kaf ...

, especially against the Kurds.

Early life and education

Yaşar Kemal was born Kemal Sadık Gökçeli to Sadık and Nigâr on 6 October 1923 in Hemite (now

Gökçedam Gökçedam (also known as ''Hemite'') is a village in the Osmaniye District in Osmaniye Province, Turkey. Its population is 586 (2022). The village is inhabited by Turkmens. It was the birthplace of the famous Turkish novelist of Kurdish origin Y ...

), a Turkmen

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

in the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Osmaniye Osmaniye () is a city on the eastern edge of the Çukurova plain in southern Turkey. It is the seat of Osmaniye Province and Osmaniye District. He was born into the only

Kurd Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...

ish family in the village but didn't face discrimination despite his ethnic difference. Kemal had a difficult childhood, and his family had to flee from

Van province Van Province (, , Armenian: Վանի մարզ) is a province and metropolitan municipality in the Eastern Anatolian region of Turkey, between Lake Van and the Iranian border. Its area is 20,921 km2, and its population is 1,128,749 (2022). ...

Diyarbakır province Diyarbakır Province (; ; ) is a province and metropolitan municipality in southeastern Turkey. Its area is 15,101 km2, and its population is 1,804,880 (2022). The provincial capital is the city of Diyarbakır. The Kurdish majority province ...

. From there, they were deported to

Adana province Adana Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality of Turkey located in central Cilicia. The administrative seat of the province is the city of Adana, home to 78.25% of the r ...

. 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 of the two main festivals in Islam alongside Eid al-Fitr. It falls on the 10th of Dhu al-Hijja, the twelfth and final month of the Islamic calendar. Celebrations and observances are generally carried forward to the ...

. When he was five years old he witnessed his father being stabbed to death by his adoptive son Yusuf while praying in a

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

. These traumatic experiences left Kemal with a

speech impediment Speech disorders, impairments, or impediments, are a type of communication disorder in which normal speech is disrupted. This can mean fluency disorders like stuttering and cluttering. Someone who is unable to speak due to a speech disorder is co ...

, 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, historically Kars () or Karsbazar (), is a city in Osmaniye Province in the Mediterranean region of Turkey. It is the seat of Kadirli District.

Osmaniye province Osmaniye Province () 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. Its area is 3,320 km2, and its p ...

. 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 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 ...

. 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 Anatolia. The plain covers the easternmost areas of Mersin Province, southern and central Adana Province, western Os ...

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 Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

activities. He visited

Akdamar Island Akdamar Island (), also known as Aghtamar () or Akhtamar (; ), is the second largest of the four main islands in Lake Van, in eastern Turkey. About 0.7 km2 in size, it is situated approximately 3 km from the shoreline. At the western end of the i ...

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 Press ...

'' newspaper, where he adopted his

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

. 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 Eusociality, eusocial insects of the Family (biology), family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the Taxonomy (biology), order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from Vespoidea, vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cre ...

'' together with Dogan Özgüden and . The magazine published articles about

Engels Friedrich Engels ( ;"Engels"
''

Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

Ho Chi Minh (born ; 19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969), colloquially known as Uncle Ho () among other aliases and sobriquets, was a Vietnamese revolutionary and politician who served as the founder and first President of Vietnam, president of the ...

and

Che Guevara Ernesto "Che" Guevara (14th May 1928 – 9 October 1967) was an Argentines, Argentine Communist revolution, Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and Military theory, military theorist. A majo ...

. 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 Index on Censorship is an organisation campaigning for freedom of expression. It 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 wit ...

, because of his support for

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish language ** Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) **Central Kurdish (Sorani) **Southern Kurdish ** Laki Kurdish *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern ...

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 strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance where participants fasting, fast as an act of political protest, usually with the objective of achieving a specific goal, such as a policy change. Hunger strikers that do not take fluids are ...

s 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 closed prisons designated by Turkish Law 5275 ...

Later years and death

On 14 January 2015, Kemal was hospitalised at

Istanbul University Istanbul University, also known as University of Istanbul (), is a Public university, public research university located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded by Mehmed II on May 30, 1453, a day after Fall of Constantinople, the conquest of Constantinop ...

's Çapa Medical Faculty, due to

respiratory insufficiency Respiratory failure results from inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, meaning that the arterial oxygen, carbon dioxide, or both cannot be kept at normal levels. A drop in the oxygen carried in the blood is known as hypoxemia; a r ...

. During the afternoon of 28 February 2015, he died in the intensive care unit, where he had been admitted for

multiple organ dysfunction syndrome Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) is altered organ function in an acutely ill patient requiring immediate medical intervention. There are different stages of organ dysfunction for certain different organs, both in acute and in chronic ...

, 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 t ...

, 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 from 2007 to 2014. He previously served for four months as Prime Minister of Turkey, Prime Minister from 2002 to 2003, and concurrently s ...

, 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 The Zincirlikuyu Cemetery () is a modern burial ground in the European part of Istanbul, Turkey. It is administered by the Metropolitan Municipality. Many prominent figures from the world of politics, business, sports and arts rest here. The ce ...

. Kemal was survived by his wife Ayşe Semiha Baban and his adoptive son, visual artist

Ahmet Güneştekin Ahmet Güneştekin (born December 22, 1966) is a Kurdish visual artist, whose works span painting, conceptual art and constructions sculpture. He left the town of Batman for Istanbul in 1991, but had to wait several years before he found his ow ...

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 () is a large List of cities in Turkey, city in Central Anatolia, Turkey, and the capital of Kayseri Province, Kayseri province. Historically known as Caesarea (Mazaca), Caesarea, it has been the historical capital of Cappadocia since anc ...

. 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 Sarı () is the Turkish word for "yellow" or "blond". It may refer to: Surname * Adem Sarı (born 1985), Turkish footballer * Ali Sarı (born 1986), Turkish taekwondo practitioner * Hasan Ahmet Sarı (born 1992), Turkish footballer * Hızır Sarı ...

'' ("Yellow Heat") in 1952. His books initially focused on the lives, sufferings and toil of the people of the

plain. Kemal used the legends and stories of

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

extensively as the basis for his works. In 1955 he received international acclaim with the publication of ''

'' (). 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. Kemal won nineteen literary prizes over his lifetime, and was nominated for the

in 1973 by

Dag Strömbäck Dag Alvar Strömbäck (13 August 1900 – 1 December 1978) was a Swedish folklorist, historian of religion and philologist. He was a professor at Uppsala University and also headed the Swedish Institute for Language and Folklore at Uppsala. Early ...

and

Per Wästberg Per Erik Wästberg (born 20 November 1933) is a Swedish writer and a member of the Swedish Academy since 1997. Wästberg was born in Stockholm, son of Erik Wästberg and his wife Greta née Hirsch, and holds a degree in literature from Uppsala ...

. The novel was adapted into a 1984 film of the same name, starring

Peter Ustinov Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov (16 April 192128 March 2004) was a British actor, director and writer. An internationally known raconteur, he was a fixture on television talk shows and lecture circuits for much of his career. Ustinov received #Awa ...

. His 1955 novel ''

Teneke Teneke may refer to: * Teneke (novel), a 1955 novel by writer Yaşar Kemal * Teneke (opera), a 2007 opera by composer Fabio Vacchi * Teneke (river), a stream in Akmola Region, Kazakhstan {{disambiguation ...

'' was adapted into a theatrical play, which ran for almost a year in

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

, in Sweden, the country in which he lived for about two years in the late 1970s. Italian composer

Fabio Vacchi Fabio Vacchi (; born 19 February 1949) is an Italian composer. Biography Training and debut Fabio Vacchi studied at the Conservatorio Giovanni Battista Martini of Bologna with Giacomo Manzoni and Tito Gotti. In 1974 he participated in the cour ...

adapted the same novel with its original title into a three-act

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

, which premiered at the

Teatro alla Scala La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was a church). The premiere performance was Antonio Salieri's ''Europa r ...

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, Italy, in 2007.

Personal life

In 1952, Yaşar Kemal married Thilda Serrero, a member of a prominent

Sephardi Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

Jewish family in Istanbul. Her grandfather, Jak Mandil Pasha, was the chief physician of the Ottoman Sultan

Abdul Hamid II Abdulhamid II or Abdul Hamid II (; ; 21 September 184210 February 1918) was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1876 to 1909, and the last sultan to exert effective control over the fracturing state. He oversaw a Decline and modernizati ...

. 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 many animals, including humans. In mammals and most other tetrapods, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of the heart. Their function in the respiratory syste ...

complications in an Istanbul hospital. She was buried in

. 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 Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...

Istanbul Bilgi University Istanbul Bilgi University () is a private university founded in 1996, located in Eyüpsultan, Istanbul, Turkey. The university has four campuses in Istanbul: SantralIstanbul, Kuştepe, Dolapdere, and Kozyatağı. History The university was ...

in Istanbul who had been educated at the

American University of Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB; ) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its main campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, autonomous board of trustees and offers programs le ...

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 ...

and

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

Bibliography

Stories * ''Sarı Sıcak'' ("Yellow Heat") (1952).''Büyük Larousse'', vol. 24, p. 12448, Milliyet, "Yaşar Kemal" Novels * ''İnce Memed'' (''

'') (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 ( 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 (Turkey's highest ...

'') (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 ''Ağrı Dağı Efsanesi'' ("The Legend of Mt Ararat") is a 1971 Turkish-language opera by Çetin Işıközlü. Mount Ararat is Mount Ağrı, Ağrı Dağı, in Turkish ( :wikt:ağrı can also mean "pain", "affliction"). The plot is based on the 1 ...

'' 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 Prix was an American power pop band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1975 by Tommy Hoehn and Jon Tiven. The group ended up primarily as a studio project. Its recordings were produced by Tiven along with former Big Star member Chris Bell, who a ...

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 from France. With an award amount of , it is among the richest literary prizes. Origins and operations It was established in 1969 in France by French b ...

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 (), Sweden, 1997. *

Friedenspreis des Deutschen Buchhandels is an international peace prize awarded annually by the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels (), which runs the Frankfurt Book Fair. The award ceremony is held in the Paulskirche in Frankfurt. The prize has been awarded since 1950. The re ...

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

, Germany, 1997. *

International Nonino Prize Nonino is a small Italian company that is a producer of grappa. Nonino is also the name of the family that owns and runs the brand Nonino Grappa. The first Nonino distillery was founded by Orazio Nonino in Ronchi di Percoto, Pavia di Udine, in t ...

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 (), Norway, 2013.

Decorations

* Commandeur de la

Légion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

de France; Paris, 1984. * Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres, Paris, 1989. * Grand Officier de la

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 The University of Strasbourg (, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. Founded in the 16th century by Johannes Sturm, it was a center of intellectual life during ...

, France, 1991.Çiftlikçi 1997
p. 29
/ref> *

Akdeniz University Akdeniz University () is a public research university established in Antalya, Turkey. It has been chosen as the second most beautiful university in Turkey, after Boğaziçi University. It is one of the leading educational institutions in the co ...

, Antalya, Turkey, 1992. *

Honorary Doctorate 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 hon ...

Bilkent University Bilkent University () is a private non-profit research university located in Ankara, Turkey. It was founded by İhsan Doğramacı, the first president of the Council of Higher Education and the head of the prominent Doğramacı family, with th ...

, Ankara, Turkey, 2002 * Honorary Doctorate,

Çukurova University Çukurova University () is a public research university located in Adana, Turkey. The university features sixteen faculties, three colleges, seven vocational colleges, three institutes, and twenty-six research and application centers. Its campus i ...

, Adana, Turkey, 2009 * Honorary Doctorate,

, Istanbul, Turkey, 2009 * Honorary Doctorate,

, Istanbul, Turkey, 2014

References

Obituary – New York Times

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kemal, Yasar 1923 births 2015 deaths Mass media freedom in Turkey Turkish Kurdish people People from Gökçedam Commanders of the Legion of Honour Turkish prisoners and detainees Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour Deaths from multiple organ failure Burials at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery 20th-century Turkish novelists Turkish magazine founders Turkish writers