PRESS RELEASE
November 5, 2006
Koelner – Stadt-Anzeiger, and Cologne’s Literaturhaus
Contact: Beth Broussalian
Grant Writing & Public Relations
Tel: 949-929-7211
E-mail: krikor1961@web.de or bethbrouss@san.rr.com

EVENING OF LITERATURE IN COLOGNE, GERMANY FEATURES ORHAN PAMUK’S NOVEL "SNOW"
Pamuk’s Acclaimed Novel to be Read in Five Languages at Original Performance

COLOGNE, GERMANY – Excerpts from the internationally acclaimed novel,
"Snow," by Orhan Pamuk, will be read in five languages at an original
performance taking place in Cologne, Germany on Friday, November 10,
2006. The readings will be performed by Albrecht Kieser in German;
Hasmik Hagopian in Armenian; Hulya Engin in Turkish; Adnan Dindar in
Kurdish; and Harutuin Harutuinian in Russian. Krikor Manugian, a
local performing artist, is the event’s organizer and moderator.
"Snow" is the most recent book by Pamuk who is the 2006 recipient of
the Nobel Prize for Literature.

This event is part of a grand, two-week literary festival that
celebrates Pamuk’s "Snow" as Cologne’s 2006 `Book for the City.’ The
festival is organized by one of Germany’s largest newpapers, Koelner
Stadt-Anzeiger, and Cologne’s Literaturhaus.

Set in the Turkish city of Kars in the 1990s, "Snow" is epic in
scope. The story encapsulates many of the political and cultural
tensions of modern Turkey into a few snowy days in a small Turkish
town and successfully combines humor, social commentary, mysticism,
and a deep sympathy with its characters. Pamuk’s literary style
possesses the intensity and fantasy characteristic of the major
writers of our time.

`My inspiration for organizing this five-language, original
performance is to show that historically Kars has not always been a
city of Turkish people. Quite the contrary, large populations of
Armenians, Russians and Kurds inhabited Kars before World War I.
With this performance, I am using art to create a dialogue among the
people who have inhabited Kars over the centuries. In my opinion,
there are no rules for initiating dialogue. By promoting cultural
awareness, I am drawing attention to the history of the Armenian
people without pointing a finger at the Turks and saying that they
are guilty [of Genocide],’ explains Manugian.

`I was born in Istanbul and am certain that if my parents hadn’t
moved our family to Germany when I was still young, I would be either
dead or in prison. Instead, I have grown up with the basic human
rights all people deserve. In Germany, I do not have to hide my
ethnicity, instead I can organize events like the literary evening
and celebrate my heritage,’ continues Manugian.

`We should not forget our history, but I believe it is wrong to
remain in the past. One of the first words that I learned in
Armenian was `abaka,’ meaning future. I have made it my life’s
ambition to work toward a better future for the Armenian people,’
Manugian concludes.

Although Pamuk is the world’s most famous contemporary Turkish
writer, in his homeland the 54-year old novelist has stirred up
nationalists against him and has been forced to answer to criminal
charges of insulting the nation’s `Turkishness.’ The charges against
Pamuk came after remarks he made about the Armenian Genocide in an
interview in 2005 with the Swiss publication Das Magazin, a weekly
supplement to a number of Swiss daily newspapers. In the interview,
Pamuk stated, "Thirty thousand Kurds and a million Armenians were
killed in these lands and nobody dares to talk about it."

Pamuk said that after the Swiss interview was published, he was
subjected to a hate campaign that forced him to flee the country. He
returned later in 2005, however, to face the charges against him. In
an interview with BBC News, he said he wanted to defend freedom of
speech, which was Turkey’s only hope for coming to terms with its
history: "What happened to the Ottoman Armenians in 1915 was a major
thing that was hidden from the Turkish nation; it was a taboo. But we
have to be able to talk about the past."

In addition to winning the Nobel Prize for Literature, Pamuk has
recently been awarded the prestigious Peace Prize of the German Book
Trade, Le Prix Méditerranée étranger, Le Prix Medicis, and the
Ricardo Huch Prize. Pamuk is also an honorary member of American
Academy of Arts and Letters. In addition to "Snow," Pamuk has
written "The White Castle," "The Black Book, New Life," and "My Name
is Red." To date, his novels have been translated into 40 languages.

The literary evening on November 10 will begin at 7:00 p.m. at the
Lew Kopelew Forum, Neumarkt 18a, 50 667 Cologne. It will include a
slide show presentation featuring photos of the Turkish city of Kars.
Traditional music of the five different nations represented at the
reading will be performed. The event will conclude with a book
signing by the five readers and Manugian, who very recently changed
his name from Kirkor Pehlivan to take the surname of his paternal
grandfather, a freedom fighter in the Armenian Genocide with the
famous General Antranig Ozanian.

To reach the Kopelew Forum directly, please call +49 221 257 6767.
For additional information about this extraordinary event, please
contact krikor1961@web.de.

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