ISTANBUL: Yasar Kemal, who was one of Turkey’s most celebrated writers, a traditional storyteller with a social conscience and an outspoken champion of the Kurdish cause, died on Saturday at the age of 92, state media reported.

Kemal died in an Istanbul hospital where he was being treated for pulmonary complications, respiratory problems and cardiac arrhythmia since January 14, the official Anatolia news agency said.

Tributes poured in, including from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who said he was “deeply saddened” to hear of the death of Kemal.

Of Kurdish descent, Kemal won numerous international awards for his epic tales set in the Anatolian heartland that recounted the struggles of rural villagers against oppression and industrial tyranny.

He faced several trials in Turkey over his writings and his political activism, particularly his denunciation of brutal government crackdowns against the Kurds, and served time in prison.

At one stage he was forced into hiding because of death threats against him and harassment by the Turkish authorities and also spent several years in exile in Sweden.

Kemal began writing poetry when he was at primary school but burst on to the Turkish literary scene in 1955 with his first novel “Memed, My Hawk” which was translated into about 40 languages and earned him rapid international fame.

Born in 1923 in a hamlet on the plains of Cilicia in southeastern Turkey as Kemal Sadik Gokceli, his early years were traumatic.

Published in Dawn, March 1st, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play