Turkey loses legendary author Ya?ar Kemal

Ya?ar Kemal, who was hospitalized since Jan 14 following respiratory problems, lung infection and heart arrhythmia, died ?n in Istanbul? broadcaster CNN reported on Feb 28 One of modern Turkey?s most celebrated literary figures, Ya?ar Kemal, who had been hospitalized since Jan. 14 following respiratory problems, lung infection and heart arrhythmia, died at hospital in Istanbul? broadcaster CNN reported on Feb. 28. 

The author, whose works have been published in dozens of languages, was the country's first candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature. 

Kemal, who wrote more than 20 novels and nearly 10 experimental works, besides short stories, is also famous for recreating Turkish as a literary language.

Having both Turkish and Kurdish origins, Kemal was born in 1923 in the southern province of Osmaniye. Losing his right eye due to a knife accident, the writer had a difficult childhood.

Kemal first worked as letter-writer for illiterate citizens in small villages, then became a journalist and finally a novelist, always believing in "human beings and nature," defining his art as "being at the proletariat's service."

"I am against those who oppress and exploit the people; it does not matter whether oppression comes from feudalism or the bourgeoisie. Whoever is preventing the happiness of the public, I am against it with my art and with my whole life," Kemal said in a 1971 interview.

"I do not want my art to diverge from the public like flesh and bone. I do not believe in an art which is separated from the public," he added.

??nce Memed? brought international acclaim
Kemal published his first book A??tlar ("Ballads") in 1943, which was a compilation of folkloric themes. His first...