Zülfü Livaneli

Turkish writer,musician and director.born 11 September 1946 in Ilgın, Turkey. Livaneli was detained by the army during the 1971 coup and forced to leave Turkey in 1972. He lived in Stockholm, Paris, Athens, and New York, where he met and collaborated with artists and intellectuals such as Abidin Dino, Mikis Theodorakis, Elia Kazan, Arthur Miller, James Baldwin, and Peter Ustinov. Livaneli returned to Turkey in 1984. Livaneli is best known for his novels that intertwine diverse social and historical backgrounds, figures, and events, winning numerous literary awards, most notably "Happiness," which won Barnes & Noble's "Discovery of Great New Writers Award" in 2006, and receiving praise from leading literary critics worldwide. His works have sold over 10 million copies in Turkey. The Eye of the Viper was included in the German magazine Der Spiegel's "100 Best Books of the Century" list, which began with Marcel Proust and Virginia Woolf. This list was selected by a jury consisting of literary scholar Eva Horn, critic Miryam Schellbach, writer Michael Maar, and philosopher Peter Sloterdijk. Livaneli is the composer and lyricist of over 400 songs and film scores. His works have been performed by world-renowned symphony orchestras in Berlin, London, Moscow, and many other cities, and have been interpreted in numerous languages ​​by many Turkish and foreign performers. "Leylim Ley" has been sung in dozens of languages ​​across three continents and arranged hundreds of times. Among many other music awards, Livaneli received the "Premio Luigi Tenco – Best Composer Award" in San Remo, Italy in 1999, and the best film score (Happiness) at the 44th Golden Orange Film Festival. The Eye of the Viper was included in the German magazine Der Spiegel's list of "100 Best Books of the Century," which began with Marcel Proust and Virginia Woolf. Livaneli's works, cultural and political activities, and contributions to world peace were recognized by UNESCO in 1995, and he was appointed a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. In 2016, he resigned from this position to protest the organization's failure to condemn the Turkish government's destruction of historical sites in the Sur district of Diyarbakır. Livaneli also served as a Member of Parliament in the 22nd term of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and as a member of the Council of Europe. In 2014, Livaneli was awarded the Legion d'Honneur, France's highest military and civilian merit award, and in 2025, he received the Federico Garcia Lorca award from the Vaqueros Municipal Council in Granada, Spain. Numerous cultural centers, museums, and parks have been built and statues erected in his name throughout Turkey.