Elif Shafak, Turk Intellectuals Who Recognized The Armenian Genocide.

By:Hambersom Aghbashian

Elif Şafak ( born 25 October 1971, Strasbourg, France) is a Turkish author, columnist, speaker and academic. She holds a Masters degree in Gender and Women’s Studies and a Ph.D. in Political Science. “As Turkey’s bestselling female writer, Şafak is a brave champion of cosmopolitanism, a sophisticated feminist, and an ambitious novelist who infuses her magical-realist fiction with big, important ideas…”. She is one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary Turkish and world literature. Her books have been published in more than 40 countries, and she was awarded the honorary distinction of Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters in 2010. (1)

Shafak has published twelve books, eight of which are novels. She writes fictions in both Turkish and English. Her first novel, Pinhan (The Mystic) was awarded the “Rumi Prize” in 1998. Her second novel is Şehrin Aynaları (Mirrors of the City). Shafak greatly increased her readership with her novel Mahrem (The Gaze), which earned her the “Best Novel-Turkish Writers’ Union Prize” in 2000. Her next novel, Bit Palas (The FleaPalace), has been a bestseller in Turkey and was shortlisted for the Independent Best Fiction Award.

Shafak wrote her next novel in English. The Saint of Incipient Insanities was published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Her second novel written in English is The Bastard of Istanbul, which was the bestselling book of 2006 in Turkey and was long listed for the Orange prize. The novel, which tells the story of an Armenian and a Turkish family through the eyes of women, brought Shafak under prosecution but the charges were ultimately dismissed.

In her book Black Milk. Shafak explored the beauties and difficulties of being a writer and a mother.. . The Forty Rules of Love sold more than 600 000 copies, becoming an all time best-

seller in Turkey and in France, awarded with the Prix ALEF – Mention Spéciale Littérature Etrangère..Her latest novel, Iskender (Honour), has topped the best-seller lists (2)

After publishing her book “The Bastard of Istanbul” in 2006, Julie Bosman wrote on Feb.10, 2007 (The New York Times -Books) that “it is the best seller in Turkey”, and that ” She travels with a bodyguard now and has been placed under official police protection in Turkey”. “Ms. Shafak was sued by a nationalist Turkish lawyer, Kemal Kerincsiz, whose rightist group has also sued dozens of others, including Orhan Pamuk, Turkey’s best-known novelist”. (3)

According to Armenpress, May 21,2013, ” The Bastard of Istanbul” was translated into Armenian by Maro Madoyan- Alajanian (American Armenian literary critic), who underscored that “Elif Safaq must be known to the Armenian society. Her novel is dedicated to the consequences of the Genocide. Safaq is hiding because of  continuous persecution  initiated against her by the Turkish extremists”.(4)

According to Aravot.am (May 30 2013), Elif Şafak, was charged under Article 301, which is about insulting national identity. In order to escape the persecutions of nationalists, the 42-year-old Turkish woman now lives in London. (5)
On December 24, 2007,Myrthe Korf wrote some details of the story which are interesting.(6)

Elif Safaq is also one of TED’s guests. TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, under the slogan “ideas worth spreading”.

In addition to writing fictions, Shafak is also a political scientist. She continues to write for Haberturk, a major newspaper in Turkey, as well as several international daily & weekly publications, including The Guardian website. She has been featured in major newspapers and periodicals, including the Washington Times, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, The Economist and The Guardian.

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1- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elif_%C5%9Eafak

2- http://www.elifshafak.com/biography.asp

3-http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/10/books/10shaf.html?_r=0

4-http://armenpress.am/eng/news/719615/

5- http://en.aravot.am/2013/05/30/154590/

6- http://myrthekorf.nl/2007/12/the-bastard-of-istanbul-by-elif-shafak/