Freedom of Expression, with Burhan Sönmez, president of PEN International

Kurdish novelist and president of PEN International, Burhan Sönmez, discusses freedom of expression in literature in conjunction with the Ransom Center’s exhibition, Freedom to Write, Freedom to Read: The Story of PEN. Moderated by Dr. Jeannette Okur, UT Middle Eastern Studies. Reception to follow. 

About Burhan Sönmez

Burhan Sönmez is the author of six novels. He is president of PEN International and a Senior Member of Hughes Hall College and Trinity College, University of Cambridge. His novels have been translated into forty-eight languages and received international prizes, including the EBRD Literature Prize and Vaclav Havel Library Award. He was born in Turkey and grew up speaking Turkish and Kurdish. He worked as a lawyer in Istanbul before going to Britain for political reasons and living there in exile for several years. He has been on the judging panel of several events, including Inge Feltrinelli Prize and Geneva International Film Festival and written for press such as La Repubblica, Der Spiegel and The Guardian. He has translated the poetry book of The Marriage of Heaven and Hell by William Blake into Turkish. Having written five novels in Turkish, he began to write in his mother tongue, Kurdish, with his last novel Lovers of Franz K. . He lives between Cambridge and Istanbul. 

Please have your reservation confirmation ready upon entering. A reservation does not guarantee a seat. Line forms upon arrival of the first patron, and doors open 30 minutes in advance. Doors to our theater will open approximately 30 minutes before the event begins. No food or beverages are allowed inside our theater or gallery space.

Host or Publisher Harry Ransom Center