 Wednesday was a day of nostalgia as Zülfü Livaneli, acclaimed musician,
songwriter, activist and novelist was at Bilkent to speak at a conference organized by Bilkent
Kültür ve Sanat Topluluğu (Culture and Arts Society)
Although he is more widely known for his songs, Livaneli has become one of the foremost
novelists of contemporary Turkish literature since retiring from his musical career. One
of his more recent novels, "Mutluluk" (Bliss) was a bestseller. The movie
version, which premiered last year - featuring a marvellous cast of Özgü Namal, Murat
Han and Talat Bulut - became a blockbuster in Turkish cinemas, and gained international
prominence.
Another of his works, the thrilling story of "Meryem," which subtly transforms
into an epic portrayal of feudal Turkish rural society and honor killings, is indeed a
captivating one, but on Wednesday, the crowd was more enthralled by Livaneli himself.
Since leaving the world of music, he has rarely ventured on to the stage for a live
performance. Many Bilkenters who were mere adolescents when he retired, learnt his music
from his records. Therefore, seeing and listening to Livaneli while he was just a few
inches away was a priceless experience.
It wasn't long before the the event had started to feel less like an author-reader chat,
and more like a graduate seminar on Livaneli, with some very well thought out questions
that left him sweating to offer up satisfactorily answers. He did a good job, and seemed
to enjoy it just as much as all of the attendees.
Selim Can Sazak (PHIL/I)
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