The Struggle for Modern Turkey:
the autobiography of Sabiha Sertel
Join Tia O’Brien, journalist and granddaughter of Sabiha Sertel, Nur Deriş, independent translator, interpreter and grandniece of Sertel, and Kaya Genç, author and essayist, in conversation with chair of English PEN Maureen Freely to discuss the legacy of Sabiha Sertel.
Sabiha Sertel was a woman of firsts. Modern Turkey’s first professional female journalist. The first to face prosecution and imprisonment for her writings. And the first to end her life in political exile.
Shortly before her death in 1968, Sertel completed her autobiography Roman Gibi (Like a Novel), written during her exile in the Soviet Union. Translated into English for the first time, it offers a rare perspective on Turkey’s history as it moved to embrace democracy, then violently recoiled.
Presented by English PEN in association with IB Tauris and SOAS.
Issue 66, December 2023
Turkey’s Centenary Issue
