Bachtyar Ali

Bachtyar Ali Muhammed (Kurdish: بەختیار عەلی, also transcribed Bextyar Elî, Bakhtiyar Ali, or Bakhtyar Ali), was born in the city of Slemani in Iraqi Kurdistan in 1966. He is a Kurdish novelist and intellectual, a literary critic, essayist, and poet. Ali started out as a poet and essayist, but has established himself as an influential novelist from the mid-1990s.[1] He has published thirteen novels, and several collections of poetry and essays.[2]

This article is about the Kurdish writer. For the Indonesian professor and ambassador, see Bachtiar Aly.
Bachtyar Ali
Bachtyar Ali in February, 2019
Born1966 (age 53–54)
Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan
OccupationAuthor
Literary movementPostmodernism, magic realism, literary fiction
Notable worksI Stared at the Night of the City
Notable awardsHARDI Literature Prize (2009), Sherko Bekas Literature Prize (2014)
Signature
Website
www.mertin-litag.de/authors_htm/Ali_B.htm

Since the mid-1990s, Ali has been living in Germany (Frankfurt, Cologne and most recently Bonn).[3] In his academic essays, he has dealt with various subjects, such as the 1988 Saddam-era Anfal genocide campaign, the relationship between the power and intellectuals and other philosophical issues. He often employs western philosophical concepts to interpret an issue in Kurdish society, modifying or adapting them to his context.

In 2016 his novel Ghezelnus u Baxekani Xeyal ("Ghazalnus and the Gardens of Imagination") was published in English under the title I Stared at the Night of the City. The first Kurdish-language novel to be published in English,[4] it was translated by London-based journalist and translator Kareem Abdulrahman. In the same year, his novel Duwahamin Henari Dunya ("The World's Last Pomegranate") was translated into German by Rawezh Salim and Ute Cantera-Lang under the title Der letzte Granatapfel ("The Last Pomegranate").[5][6]

Education

Ali finished his pre-university education in Slemani. He attended Shaykh Salam Primary School, Azmar Secondary School and Halkawt Preparatory School. He started studying Geology at the University of Sulaimani, and later Salahaddin University in Arbil (Kurdish, Hawler:هەولێر), the current capital of Iraq's Kurdistan Region. Ali speaks Kurdish, Arabic, Persian, German, and has a working knowledge of English.[7]

Writing career

He wrote his first prominent piece of writing in 1983, a long poem called Nishtiman ("The Homeland"; Kurdish; نیشتمان). His first article, titled La parawezi bedangi da ("In the margin of silence") in the Pashkoy, Iraq newspaper in 1989. He started to publish and hold seminars after the 1991 uprising against the Iraqi government, as the Kurds started to establish a de facto semi-autonomous region in parts of Iraqi Kurdistan and enjoy a degree of freedom of speech. He could not have published most of his work before 1991 because of strict political censorship under Saddam.

Along with several other writers of his generation—most notably Mariwan Wirya Qani, Rebin Hardi and Sherzad Hasan—he started a new intellectual movement in Kurdistan, mainly through holding seminars. The same group in 1991 started publishing a philosophical journal, Azadi ("Freedom"; Kurdish:ئازادی), of which only five issues were published, and then Rahand ("Dimension"; Kurdish:رەهەند).

In 1992, he published his first book, a poetry collection titled Gunah w Karnaval ("Sin and the Carnival"; Kurdish:گوناه و کەڕنەڤال). It contained several long poems, some which were written in the late 1980s. His first novel, Margi Taqanay Dwam ("The death of the second only child"; Kurdish:مەرگی تاقانەی دووەم), the first draft of which was written in the late 1980s, was published in 1997.

In 2017, he received the Nelly-Sachs-Preis award, which is only given every other year. It was the first time that the prize was awarded to someone who doesn't write in a European language.[8][9]

Poetry
  • Gûnah û Kerneval (The Sin and the Carnival), 1992.
  • Bohîmy û Estêrekan (Bohemian and the Stars), 2000.
  • Koy Berheme Şî'riyekan; (Collection of complete works of poetry), 1983–1998.
  • Îşkirdin le Daristanekany Fîrdeûs da (Working in the Forests of Heaven), 2004.
  • Ta Matemî gûl.. Ta Xwênî Frişte ('Till the Funeral of Flower.. 'Till the Angel's Blood); Complete works (1983–2004).
  • Ey Benderî Dost.. Ey Keştî dûjmin (O the Port of Friend.. O the Ship of Enemy), 2009.
  • Şewêk Asman pir bû le Estêrey Şet (A Night the Sky was Full of Crazy Stars), 2019.

Novels

His novels can be categorized as magic realism.

  • Mergî Taqaney Duwem (The Death of the Second Only Child), 1997
  • Êwarey Perwane (Parwane's Evening), 1998
    • Translated into Kurmanji by Avesta under the title Êavara Perwaneyê, 2012
    • Translated into Persian by Mariwan Halabjaee under the title غروب پروانه 2017
    • Translated into German by Rawezh Salim and Ute Cantera Lang under the title Perwanas Abend, 2019.
  • Duwahamîn Henarî Dûnya (The Last Pomegranate of the World), 2002
    • Translated into Persian by Arash Sinjabi under the title آخرین انار دنیا 2009
    • Translated into Persian by Mariwan Halabjaee under the title آخرین انار دنیا 2014
    • Translated into German by Rawezh Salim and Ute Cantera-Lang under the title Der letzte Granatapfel, 2016
    • Translated into Kurmanji by Avesta under the title Hinara Dawî ya Dinyayê, 2017
    • Translated into Italian by M. Diotalevi under the title L'Ultimo Melograno, 2018
    • Translated into Arabic by Ghassan Hamdan under the title آخرُ رمان الدنيا 2018
    • Translated into Arabic by Ibrahim Khalil and Abdullah Sheikho under the title آخر رمَّانات العَالم 2019
    • Translated into French by Sandrine Traïdia under the title Le dernier grenadier du monde, 2019
  • Shari Mosiqare Spiyekan (The City of the White Musicians), 2006
    • Translated into German by Peschawa Fatah and Hans-Ulrich Müller-Schwefe under the title Die Stadt der weißen Musiker, 2017
  • Xezelnûs û Baxekanî Xeyal (Ghazalnus and the Gardens of Imagination), 2008
  • Koşkî Balinde Xemgînekan (Mansion of the Sad Birds), 2009
    • Second Edition, 2014 ISBN 978-1-63068-980-3
    • Translated to Kurmanji by Avesta, 2017
  • Cemşîd Xanî Mamim: Ke Hemîşe Ba Legel Xoyda Deybird (My Uncle Jamshid Khan : Whom the Wind Was Always Taking), 2010
    • Translated into Kurmanji by Avesta under the title Apê min Cemşîd xan kû hertum bê ew li ber xwe dibir, 2012
    • Translated into Persian by Mariwan Halabjaee under the title جمشید خان عمویم، که باد همیشە او را با خو می برد 2016
  • Keştî Friştekan – Bergî Yekem (The Angels' Ship ), 2012
  • Keştî Friştekan – Bergî Duwem (The Angels' Ship <Part two>), 2013
  • Hewrekanî Danial (The Clouds of Danial), 2015
  • Keşti Friştekan – Bergî Sêyem (The Angels' Ship <Part three>), 2017
  • Deryas û Laşekan (Deryas and the Bodies), 2019

Essays
  • Welam le Rojgarî Winbûnî Pirsiyarda (Answers in the Age of Absence of Questions); 13 reviews with the writer, 2003.
  • Îman û Cengaweranî (Faith and its Warriors), 2004.
  • Xwênerî Kûşinde (Fatal Reader), 2005.
  • Sêwî Sêhem (Third Apple), 2009.
  • Çêjî Mergdostî (The Taste of Mournfluness), 2011.
  • Le Diyarewe bo Nadiyar (From Visible to Invisible), 2011.
  • Wek Balindey naw Cengele Tirsinakekan (Like the Birds in the Scary Jungles), 2012.
  • Awrekey Orfîûos (Orpheus's Turn), 2014.
  • Nersîsî Kûjraw (Murdered Narcissus), 2015.
  • Rexne le 'Eqlî Faşîsty (Critic on Fascistic Minds), 2015
  • Cûaniyekany Nareky (Beauties of Irregularity), 2015.
  • Yadewery û Zemen (Memory and Time), 2015
  • Naşwên (No-place), 2019
  • Xorhelat û Lebîrkirawekany (East and its Forgottens); About the novel Deryas û Laşekan, 2019
  • Aîdolojîst (Ideologist), 2019.
  • Opozisîon û Portrêtekany (Opposition and its Portraits), 2019.

Filmography
Film credits
Year Title Role Notes
2017 The Last Picture N/A Screenplay; Writer;
Short film
gollark: It relates to error correction codes or something.
gollark: I remember reading about a weird finite one with 7 points.
gollark: Edges are lines. Lines are sets of points, and in Euclidean geometry infinite ones. QEDEDED.
gollark: π ± 10% error margin.
gollark: Technically, an edge is an infinite set of points.

See also

References
  1. "Bachtyar Ali". www.mertin-litag.de. Retrieved 2017-02-03.
  2. "Literaturpreis: Irakisch-kurdischer Autor Bachtyar Ali erhält Nelly-Sachs-Preis 2017 - Nachrichten - Kulturbüro - Freizeit, Kultur, Tourismus - Stadtportal dortmund.de". www.dortmund.de (in German). Archived from the original on 2018-08-15. Retrieved 2018-11-11.
  3. "Kurdish novelist tops German list of best translated novels". 2018-08-15. Retrieved 2018-11-11.
  4. Keating, Joshua (2016-12-30). "The First Kurdish Novel Ever Translated Into English Bridges Politics, Poetry, and Johnny Depp Movies". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 2017-02-03.
  5. "Kurdish novelist tops German list of best translated novels". 2018-08-15. Retrieved 2018-11-11.
  6. "The Last Pomegranate of the World – Titowak". www.titowak.com. Retrieved 2018-11-11.
  7. "Literaturpreis: Irakisch-kurdischer Autor Bachtyar Ali erhält Nelly-Sachs-Preis 2017 - Nachrichten - Kulturbüro - Freizeit, Kultur, Tourismus - Stadtportal dortmund.de". www.dortmund.de (in German). Archived from the original on 2018-08-15. Retrieved 2018-11-11.
  8. "Renowned Kurdish novelist Bachtyar Ali receives prestigious lite". 2018-08-15. Retrieved 2018-11-11.
  9. "Literaturpreis: Irakisch-kurdischer Autor Bachtyar Ali erhält Nelly-Sachs-Preis 2017 - Nachrichten - Kulturbüro - Freizeit, Kultur, Tourismus - Stadtportal dortmund.de". www.dortmund.de (in German). Archived from the original on 2018-08-15. Retrieved 2018-11-11.
  • University of Sulaymaniyah, College of Languages, Department of Kurdish Language. Lectures.
  • Persian Language of this Article.
  • Interviews with the writer
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