Meral Şimşek

born in Diyarbakır, is a Kurdish author of poems, novels, and short stories as well as editor for various magazines and publishing houses. She composed music and also wrote song lyrics. In particular, she deals with Kurdish issues in her poetry collections »Mülteci Düşlers« (2013; tr: Refugee Dream), »Ateşe Bulut Yağdıran« (2015; tr: Clouding the Fire), and »İncir Karası« (2017; tr: Black Fig). She also won the Martyr Deniz Fırat Turkish Poetry Prize for her first novel, »Nar Lekesi« (tr: Pomegranate Stain), in 2017. She was also conferred the title of Best Poet in Diyarbakır’s Golden Earth Awards in 2018. Because of an impending prison sentence in Turkey, she was brought into exile in Germany in July 2022 with the help of PEN Berlin. Her story, »Arzela«, published in the anthology »Kurdistan + 100«, reflects her imaginative vision of a future for the Kurdish people by 2046. Some of her poems and stories have been translated into German, English and French, and published in various newspapers and magazines. A selection from Şimşek’s volumes of poetry will be published in German in September 2023.

Traum und Realität

Theodor Kramer Gesellschaft
Wien, 2023