Latife Tekin is a Turkish novelist known for her experimental narrative style and early focus on Anatolian village life. She is best known for her debut novel, Dear Shameless Death (1983), and her ongoing engagement with the boundaries between politics, literature and language. She was awarded the Erdal Öz Literary Award in 2019.
Latife Tekin was born in 1957 in the village of Karacahevenk in the Bünyan district of Kayseri, Turkey. She moved to Istanbul with her family in 1966. She completed her secondary education at Beşiktaş Girls' High School. She worked for a short time at the Istanbul Telephone General Directorate.
Her first novel, Dear Shameless Death (1983), brought her immediate recognition. The story had a lyrical and mythical tone based on her early village life. It has often been compared to One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Tekin later said, "This book opened up a whole new perspective for me. I felt I could write anything.
Her subsequent novels include Berci Kristin Çöp Masalları (1984), Gece Dersleri (1986) and Buzdan Kılıçlar (1989). These works further established her literary presence. Her books have been translated into several languages, including English, German, French, Italian, Persian and Dutch.
Although Tekin's work is often associated with magical realism, she does not use that label. "Political writer would be more accurate," she said in an interview. She once described herself as a "translator" of the poor, explaining that she wanted to give a voice to those who had none.
In the late 1990s, she initiated a cultural project in Bodrum Gümüşlük. The Literary House, built with architectural support from Hüsmen Ersöz and funding from Garanti Bank, aimed to create a shared space for writing and art. The painter Hale Arpacıoğlu contributed to the associated Art House.
In 2022, Tekin published Zamansız, a novel written during the closure of COVID-19. The book explores a fluid and timeless love through poetic memory and shifting identity. She writes: "Tell me, my love, we're in a car heading for the land of images… let go of the wheel, let us fly into the sky".
Latife Tekin continued to take part in academic and literary forums. At a translation congress in İzmir, she highlighted the complex relationship between author and translator. "Each reader creates his or her version of the book," she said, recalling the English edition of Dear Shameless Death, introduced by John Berger.
Latife Tekin was born in 1957 in the village of Karacahevenk in the Bünyan district of Kayseri, Turkey. She moved to Istanbul with her family in 1966. She completed her secondary education at Beşiktaş Girls' High School. She worked for a short time at the Istanbul Telephone General Directorate.
Her first novel, Dear Shameless Death (1983), brought her immediate recognition. The story had a lyrical and mythical tone based on her early village life. It has often been compared to One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Tekin later said, "This book opened up a whole new perspective for me. I felt I could write anything.
Her subsequent novels include Berci Kristin Çöp Masalları (1984), Gece Dersleri (1986) and Buzdan Kılıçlar (1989). These works further established her literary presence. Her books have been translated into several languages, including English, German, French, Italian, Persian and Dutch.
Although Tekin's work is often associated with magical realism, she does not use that label. "Political writer would be more accurate," she said in an interview. She once described herself as a "translator" of the poor, explaining that she wanted to give a voice to those who had none.
In the late 1990s, she initiated a cultural project in Bodrum Gümüşlük. The Literary House, built with architectural support from Hüsmen Ersöz and funding from Garanti Bank, aimed to create a shared space for writing and art. The painter Hale Arpacıoğlu contributed to the associated Art House.
In 2022, Tekin published Zamansız, a novel written during the closure of COVID-19. The book explores a fluid and timeless love through poetic memory and shifting identity. She writes: "Tell me, my love, we're in a car heading for the land of images… let go of the wheel, let us fly into the sky".
Latife Tekin continued to take part in academic and literary forums. At a translation congress in İzmir, she highlighted the complex relationship between author and translator. "Each reader creates his or her version of the book," she said, recalling the English edition of Dear Shameless Death, introduced by John Berger.
years of life: 31 December 1957 – present
Books
Quotes
True originality is unusually difficult to define because it gives the impression of existing for the first time and this — fortunately — precludes generalizations.
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