the past and the present of book publishing in kurdish language in ...

their mother tongue is more meaningful and important. They want to send amessage to society by writing. Some of them need to express themselves inthis way. Sometimes writing is a kind of therapy. For some, writing especiallyin exile is a means of battling against solitude, a way to communicate withother people.On the other hand, writing is respected among the Kurds. Thus,psychological factors like trying to achieve a high social status also influencewriting. The feeling experienced when one is read by others is not easy toexplain.I think state oppression and torture have motivated some people to write.There are clues to this driving force in some writers' explanations (33).Perhaps some of the writers started writing because of the torture they hadundergone; the smell of torture and prison permeate their works.Kurdish writers have different motives to write but the political milieu andnational oppression seem to be common factors.In the matter of the number of Kurdish writers, I have been able toestablish 254 authors of books written in the dialects of Kurmanci andKırmancki (Zazaki) until 2006 in Turkey, including the Ottoman era. The factthat there are only 6 women among them reveals the place of women inKurdish society.Here are some other characteristics of Kurdish writers whohave published books in Turkey:numberWriters from Northern Kurdistan, writing in the Kurmanc dialect ................. 195Writers from Northern Kurdistan, writing in the Kırmanc (Zaza) dialect ......... 39Writers from Western Kurdistan (Syria)........................................................... 10Writers from Southern Kurdistan (Iraq).............................................................. 1Writers from Eastern Kurdistan (Iran) ............................................................... 1Writers from Armenia......................................................................................... 8Altogether ........................................................................................254Writers from Northern Kurdistan whose books published in Turkey:number percent %Writers living in Northern Kurdistan and Turkey .................. 148 ............63,24Writers living in Europe.............................................................56 ............23,93Dead .........................................................................................30 ............12,83Altogether ...................................................................234 .............10013