The grief felt after Hrant Dink’s assassination became a shared story among those who knew him and those who did not. “Freedom on His Wings: Stories for Hrant Dink” (“Özgürlüğü Kanadında: Hrant Dink İçin Öyküler”), to be published by İletişim Publishing, seeks to keep this collective memory alive through literature. Edited by Gaye Boralıoğlu, the book features stories by a range of writers, as well as an essay by Hrant’s Friends titled “Hrant’s Story.” The cover illustration was created by Kemal Gökhan Gürses.
The book, prepared to mark the 20th anniversary of the assassination of our newspaper’s founder, Hrant Dink, who was murdered in front of the Agos offices on January 19, 2007, brings together 20 writers who have written new stories especially for his memory.
The book features stories by Karin Karakaşlı, Murathan Mungan, Rıdvan Hatun, Sema Kaygusuz, Sevim Çiçek, Ayfer Tunç, Irmak Zileli, Murat Gülsoy, Melisa Kesmez, Murat Uyurkulak, Selahattin Demirtaş, Behçet Çelik, Kerem Bakıcı, Polat Özlüoğlu, Kâmil Erdem, Fethiye Çetin, Şebnem İşigüzel, Figen Alkaç, Ayşegül Devecioğlu, and Eylem Ata.
The book will hit the shelves on Saturday, October 31.
“We are here, Ahparig”
In her introductory essay, titled “From Persistence to Hope, from Hope to Truth,” (“İnattan Umuda, Umuttan Hakikate”) Boralıoğlu observes that the collective grief that emerged after Hrant Dink’s assassination has evolved into personal stories. Noting that people who knew Hrant Dink and those who never met him alike have identified with his story, Boralıoğlu says this shared memory also holds the possibility of building a future in which differences can coexist.
Explaining that writers are addressing Hrant Dink through their stories, Boralıoğlu writes:
“Now, in this book, it is the writers who call out, ‘We are here, Ahparig.’ Inspired by his words, his voice, and his presence that could not be erased, they are rebuilding their own literary worlds. Through the stories they write, they expand Hrant’s words while also becoming part of that vast atlas of conscience.”
Following the white doves
In her introductory essay, Boralıoğlu also recalls an image that remains etched in the memory of Hrant Dink’s funeral, attended by tens of thousands of people: white doves appearing around the coffin carried by Armenian youths dressed in black mourning clothes.
Boralıoğlu recounts how the doves accompanied Hrant Dink throughout the funeral and connects this image to the stories in the book. She concludes her essay with these words:
“Today, those doves wander among these stories, carrying a greeting from us to Hrant’s spirit, that beautiful spirit.”
