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Turkish-German writer Zafer Senocak, a leading voice in German discussions of national and cultural identity, will arrive on campus next week to serve as Lafayette’s first Max Kade Distinguished Writer-in-Residence.
He will join with Margarete Lamb-Faffelberger, associate professor and head of foreign languages and literatures, in teaching a German course that explores the concepts of identity and home in contemporary German literature. Students will read texts by Senocak; avant-garde Austrian author Elfriede Jelinek, winner of the 2004 Nobel Prize in Literature; and others. Senocak also will give poetry readings and participate in discussion sessions with students and faculty during the spring semester.
A widely published poet, essayist, journalist, and editor, Senocak’s works have been translated into Turkish, English, French, Dutch, and Hebrew. His essays and articles often address Turkish-German issues and confront problems of multiculturalism in Germany. He has collaborated on a regular basis with several German newspapers and magazines, and in 1988, he founded Sirene, a literary magazine featuring works in many languages.
In 1984, Senocak was awarded the City of Munich Literary Prize for his first poetry collection, Elektrisches Blau. In 1988 he received the Adalbert von Chamisso Förderpreis of the Bavarian Academy of the Arts.
He previously served as writer-in-residence at Oxford University, MIT, the University of California, Berkeley, Oberlin College, and other institutions of higher education.
Born in Ankara, Turkey in 1961, Senocak has lived primarily in Berlin and Munich since 1970.
Directed by Lamb-Faffelberger, Lafayette’s Max Kade Center for German Studies was established through a $65,000 grant from the Max Kade Foundation. It is based in Pardee Hall room 429.