Murathan Mungan

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Murathan Mungan, Diyarbakir 2008

Murathan Mungan (born April 21, 1955 in Istanbul ) is a Turkish writer of Kurdish-Arab origin.

Life

Murathan Mungan was born in Istanbul in 1955 and grew up in Mardin , a Turkish city near the Syrian border with a long history. His family has Kurdish-Arab roots on his father's side and belonged to the upper middle class. In order to protect his son from defamation regarding his origin, his father prevented, for example, the young Murathan from speaking Kurdish - although this was one of the languages ​​of his immediate environment. In this way, Mungan grew up in a cultural area of ​​tension from the start.

Mungan studied theater studies at Ankara University and then worked as a dramaturge at the state theaters in Ankara and Istanbul. His first novel was published in 1980 and his first play was premiered in 1981. Since then, Murathan Mungan has published over 30 novels, volumes of poetry, and volumes of short stories.

Murathan Mungan is openly gay. When a journalist quoted him as saying “I am homosexual”, he is said to have corrected in front of the press that he was not homosexual, but gay. Homosexuality is only a form of sexuality, but being gay is a way of life. Although his texts often have a homoerotic dimension, Mungan deliberately does not refer to his work as gay literature .

As a public figure, Mungan is committed to the rights of the Kurdish people . In 2002, for example, he was one of the signatories of a declaration calling for the vote for the left-wing Kurdish party DEHAP . At a time when such a position took some courage.

In Turkey, Mungan is now valued as an important author. It is particularly popular among young and liberal readers. His lyrics are set to music by Turkish pop stars, and some of his poems are supposed to circulate as short messages even before a volume of poetry is published .

Awards

Works

The majority of Mungan's texts are characterized by their spiritual depth, emotional density and political depth. He often addresses rituals of belief and tradition , which on the one hand are associated with repression for the individual, but on the other hand also contain high-level truths.

Murathan Mungan has now published 14 volumes of poetry in Turkish, plus many novels and short stories. So far, the volume of short stories Palast des Ostens and the novels Tschador and Cities from Women have been published in German. Mungan's volume of poetry Metal from 1994 was translated by Yücel Sivri that same year .

Palace of the East

The volume Palast des Ostens , published in German, comprises five stories:

  • Ökkeş and Cengâver
  • Dumrul and Azrail
  • Binali and Temir
  • Muradhan and Selvihan
  • The grand vizier and his messenger

Quotes

"Lies arise when everyone adds something to the truth." (From his novella Tschador )

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Börte Sagaster: Afterword from Murathan Mungan: Palace of the East. Indicated under literature .
  2. ↑ Nimet Şeker: Murathan Mungan - The Poet of Mardin. Specified under web links .
  3. ↑ Gülçin Wilhelm: A highly valued artist who cannot be pigeonholed. Specified under web links .
  4. ^ Sibylle Thelen , Stuttgarter Zeitung on December 2, 2006, on the author's page at Unionsverlag . Specified under web links .
  5. ↑ Stern : Beloved and pursued , edition 42/2008, page 186

literature

  • Murathan Mungan: Palace of the East. Unionsverlag, Zurich 2006, ISBN 9783293100053
  • Murathan Mungan: Metal. Poems. Translated by Yücel Sivri
  • Murathan Mungan: Chador. Roman, translated by Gerhard Meier, Blumenbar Verlag, Munich 2008
  • Murathan Mungan: Cities Made of Women. Roman, translated by Gerhard Meier, Blumenbar Verlag, Munich 2010

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Mungan, Murathan
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Turkish author
DATE OF BIRTH April 21, 1955
PLACE OF BIRTH Istanbul