Turkey loses prominent writers Erkmen and Koloğlu
Turkey has lost two of its renowned writers this week. Nevzat Erkmen, translator of Ulysses into Turkish, succumbed to Covid-19 at the age of 89 on April 15. Historian Orhan Koloğlu, who wrote over 50 books, passed away two days later due to a skin infection at the age of 90.
Duvar English
Turkey has lost two of its renowned writers this week, Nevzat Erkmen and Orhan Koloğlu.
Erkmen, who was also the first person to translate James Joyce's Ulysses into Turkish, died from Covid-19 at the age of 89 on April 15.
"Nevzat Erkmen was one of the most interesting personalities that the literary world has ever seen. He established a beverage factory in Turkey and was an executive at Schweppes. Then, he abandoned everything and turned to publishing and translation," Doğan Publishing Editor-in-Chief Cem Erciyes tweeted following Erkmen's death.
Erkmen was also a puzzle fanatic and the founder of the Puzzle Club of Turkey.
A statement released by the Executive Board of the PEN Turkey said that Erkmen "raised several translators in PEN Turkey Translation Workshop." "We express our condolences to his loved ones, relatives and students," read the statement.
Turkish historian and author of 52 books Orhan Koloğlu died only two days later, on April 17.
Koloğlu did not suffer from Covid-19, according to the information obtained by OdaTV. The historian was admitted to a hospital after his open wound on arm got infected and the infection spread to other parts of the body.
"He lived a full life, worked until the last minute. Wrote his 90th book while entering his 90th age," tweeted Koloğlu's nephew.
Koloğlu was best known for his book about the history of the press in Turkey since the Ottoman Empire.
Koloğlu won multiple awards for social research, including two from the Turkish Journalists' Association (TGC).