Talk:Yaşar Kemal

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[edit] His ethnicity

I was wondering, did Yaşar Kemal identify as a Turk or a Kurd? Or did he identify as both? I think he's the judge of who he is, and we shouldn't give the man a certain label if that's not what he prefers. —Khoikhoi 00:42, 13 October 2006 (UTC)

I don't know exactly what he identified himself but in 1995 Kemal was imprisoned for an article that condemned the government's oppression of the Kurdish minority, and offered support to the Kurdish Workers' Party. Ozgur Gerilla 17:32, 13 October 2006 (UTC)
??? Are you joking?? He never offered support to the PKK, NEVER EVER.. I repeat again: HE NEVER OFFERED SUPPORT TO THE PKK.. NEVER EVER.. That is a very grave accusation to make, if it were true, he would have been most probably jailed for life back in 1995. He is an anti-nationalism of all kinds human rights activist that is respected by everyone in Turkey.. In my opinion he deserved the Nobel much more than Pamuk, he has done so much concrete actions to improve democracy in Turkey. What did Pamuk do? Just give a speech.. He is a great writer, but not as good as Kemal who simply has a master style and comprehension of the centuries-old intricate relationships between Turks and Kurds, but most importantly their relationship with religion and feudalism.. As for his identification, I suppose u should ask him, but he always wrote in Turkish, and to my knowledge he has identified himself as "Turkish of Kurdish origin". Let's not forget that Turkish is the identity that encompasses others who choose to affiliate themselves with it.. I met black people in Istanbul who call themselves Turkish. Many people, "ethnic Turks" included, have condemned certain acts of the Turkish government over the years, that don't make them simply Kurdish either. By his works, he simply transcends that difference :)) Khoikhoi, I understand your goodwill behind this, but how would u feel if people kept on continously asking and telling you Are you Jewish or u American? or So, u r Jew or American or what?? or American or Jew, you gotta decide Khoi!!. Don't get me wrong, but this is what it comes down to at the end. I don't understand why some people cannot accept the fact that you can feel Turk and Kurd at the same time. The same goes for others, the first president of the Turkish Language Association was a Turkish citizen of Armenian origin in the 1930s. WHAT??!! That cannot be true!! Turks are just a bunch of barbarian horsemen who kill all other ethnicities with swords, how is it possible that "Turkish" can be used as an encompassing identity to define people who simply share a destiny and a common history that dates back thousands of years?? Besides, how could it be possible that could happen since Turks butchered one gazillion people twenty years earlier (!)?? So, drop it folks!!!! :))) Baristarim 03:58, 14 October 2006 (UTC)
Baristarim, my friend, you've misunderstood again. The sentence I wrote says Kemal was imprisoned for an article that condemned the gov. oppression to the Kurds and offered support support to PKK—that was the two reason why he was imprisoned not that it was proved that he helped the PKK. I agree with your opinion on him deserving the Nobel Literature Prize—he has influenced Turkish art for over half a century. an x person can feel n ethnicities an can change this however whenever they want—the problem is those people are not Wiki user's for them to express their opinion so we have to label them, but seriously some Turkish people go beyond belief everyone knows Yasar Kemal, Yilmaz Guney, Siwan Perwer, Ahmet Kaya are Kurds and except Yasar Kemal from the list of those artists I know they did say they were Kurdish and some users (mainly anons) change them to Turkish — that is ridiculous. Oh, please and you date the Turkish identity that implies many ethnicities to thousands of years - how could that be when the Turk ethnicity has only a history of a millenium in anatolia - did those Kurds at the time say 'hey look there's Turks in asia they are fascinating let's be like them-let's call ourselves Turks too. I have so many relatives who are simply Kurdish and call themselves Turkish — I have no problem with that I can understand that but using the term Turkish as an encompassing identity is not that old, even though in Ottoman's Kurds were identified as 'Mountain Turks'. This doesn't mean they were Turkish. The majority of the Kurds in Turkey has been forced to change identity and I don't have to mention the ways. So saying people are officially called Turkish that means we should, in Wiki, state that they are Turkish is very wrong — I think the best thing to do is Khois method. Just state what language they work in and if we could find a good source stating their ethnicity then put that in too. Ozgur Gerilla 11:07, 14 October 2006 (UTC)
Guys, please sort it before edit warring. Anytime you feel the issue is settled, just let me know. Alex Bakharev 00:43, 20 November 2006 (UTC)
Just wanted to reply to Ozgur (even though it has been nearly two months since the last talk :)): I have since ran into an interview where he described himself as "Kurdish and Turkish". It was a long article and I forgot where I saw it, but it was basically what you were saying: "Kurdish and call themselves Turkish". I suppose it would be a bit complicated to explore the reasons why he calls himself "Kurdish and Turkish".. But to answer to Khoi's original question long ago, yes, you can say he identified as both in a way where they are not exclusive of each other. When I have the time I will try to look for the article, but I am pretty sure that it was in a Turkish magazine or something. An old case closed :)) Baristarim 05:37, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Category Adana or Osmaniye

When we was born, that region was part of Adana, but now it is not. Should we keep him in Category:Adana denizTC 20:15, 29 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] INCOMPLETE ARTICLE

This article has a section on his marriages but not specific works? I think in addition to the biographical writing, the article needs LENGTHY explanation about why he is so significant as a writer. What movement is he a part of? Why is he one of the few turkish authors to get international attention? i would do it but I do not know enough about him... however, I am certain someone does and needs to augment this weak article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 192.246.224.95 (talk) 16:31, 15 May 2008 (UTC)