Everest Publishing House organized the ‘Orhan Kemal is 110 Years Old’ panel within the scope of Izmir Book Fair (İZKITAP). In the panel where Journalist – Writer Mazlum Vesek and Researcher – Writer Uğur Sümer were speakers and moderated by Journalist Utkucan Akkaş, Orhan Kemal’s literature and life were discussed.
‘He talked about workers in all his works’
Underlining that Orhan Kemal consistently wrote about the lives of the workers and oppressed in Turkey from his first work to his last, Journalist – Writer Mazlum Vesek said, ‘The richness of a geography cannot be measured only by its underground and aboveground resources. The writers who tell the world about that country and its people through their works are also the value of that geography. Throughout his life, Orhan Kemal talked about the struggle of the working class in Turkey, the oppressed peoples, and the people in the back row. Today, 54 years have passed since his death, and we still talk about this writer, who is 110 years old, with the same excitement and respect. “Orhan Kemal is one of the greatest values of our country with the works he left to the future,” he said.
Nazım Hikmet years…
Sharing memories about Orhan Kemal’s life, Researcher – Writer Uğur Sümer stated that Nazım Hikmet had a special place in Orhan Kemal’s literary life and said, ‘Orhan Kemal went to prison because he read the poems of Nazım Hikmet, whom he had never met. This journey took him to Bursa Prison, where he met Nazım Hikmet, whom he admired. Here, his companionship with Nazım Hikmet deeply affected Orhan Kemal’s literature. The person who encouraged Orhan Kemal to write stories and novels was Nazım Hikmet. It should be said that this process deeply affected the author’s intellectual life. “These two great items, among many others, have a great share in establishing class consciousness in our generation,” he said.
The panel started with Utkucan Akkaş’s speech, ‘Orhan Kemal managed to influence every generation that came after him with his works and his life with an enlightened consciousness, and is still a light to all of us today; He ended with the words “He is one of Turkey’s greatest writers.”
