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The Literature of National Identity

Nobel Prize for Turkish Author Pamuk

Loved abroad and controversial at home, Turkish author Orhan Pamuk was awarded the Nobel literature prize on Thursday. The Swedish Academy cited his work on the clash of cultures.

In a move sure to infuriate nationalists in Turkey, the Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk was awarded the 2006 Nobel literature prize on Thursday. The Swedish Acadamy cited Pamuk's work at the fault line between two cultures, writing as he does about Turkey's difficult balance with roots in the orient but aspirations to join the European Union. The Academy cited Pamuk's "quest for the melancholic soul of his native city" of Istanbul, saying he has "discovered new symbols for the clash and interlacing of cultures."

"I am very happy and honored. I am very satisfied," Pamuk was quoted as saying in an interview with the Swedish paper Svenska Dagbladet. "I will try to recover from this shock."

Pamuk has long been politically outspoken. He was the first author in the Muslim literary world to denounce the fatwa against Salman Rushdie and has been heavily critical of his home country. The writer clashed with his government early last year when he told a Swiss newspaper that Turkey was unwilling to deal with its past. Turkey's insistence that the massacre of Armenians during World War I was not a planned genocide and its treatment of its Kurdish minorities are ongoing sources of tension and may even present obstacles to the country's EU aspirations. Pamuk was charged with "insulting Turkishness" by a group of ultra-nationalist lawyers in a case that raised issues of freedom of speech in Turkey. Charges were dropped this January.

The award is sure to focus attention on a Turkey currently struggling with its identity as it works toward European Union membership. It is eager to modernize but continues to struggle with the role religion should play in the country's society. Indeed, Pamuk's novel "Snow" takes an aggressive, but often sensitive, look at the role of religious extremism in Turkey.

Pamuk also has a special relationship with Germany, where the "clash of cultures" and the integration of over 2 million Turkish immigrants is a constant subject for debate. Last year, the Frankfurt Book Fair awarded the author Germany's most prestigious book award -- one week after the German parliament passed a resolution in memory of Armenians massacred by Turks in 1915, sparking protests from Germany's Turkish community.

Among Pamuk's most recognized works is his first novel, The White Castle, and his more recent Snow. Both books deal with the notion of identity and how it becomes distorted across cultures.

The Academy noted Pamuk's own experiences with both the ancient and the modern in its citation. "Pamuk has said that growing up, he experienced a shift from a traditional Ottoman family environment to a more Western-oriented lifestyle," the Academy wrote.

Kemal Kerincsiz, one of the lawyers who helped bring charges against Pamuk, was unhappy with the Academy's decision. "I don't believe this prize was given for his books or for his literary ability," he said according to the AP. "It was given because he belittled our national values, for his recognition of the genocide."

jsg/dpa/reuters