Burhan Sönmez was born in Central Anatolia and grew up speaking Kurdish and Turkish. He studied law in Istanbul and lived in political exile in Britain. In 2011, he was awarded the Sedat Simavi Literature Prize for his second novel, Sins and Innocents. He is the Prize’s youngest recipient. Sönmez lectures at the Middle East Technical University on literary theory. Translated from the Turkish by Umit Hussein, his latest novel, Istanbul Istanbul, debuts this spring from OR Books.
Burhan Sönmez
Articles by Burhan Sönmez
Friday April 8
Mortal Gods in the Greek Sea
We had no idea that a livid war was advancing on us like a sandstorm. We were committed to life, not death. We believed in the near, not the far, and not in leaving, but in staying.