Pamuk made himself a political figure. And now as all political figures he wants to curtail the freedom of others to probe and ask questions.

Perhaps it was the people in the ticket line shouting at Pamuk who caused his behaviour, which was unkind, rude and terribly antagonistic toward Carol Off, who was asking him questions both about his novels and about his political stance. His behaviour was shocking. He shouldn’t come to “talk shows” to sell his books if he’s not willing to answer normal questions.

Actually, his comment about not talking about personal matters at a “talk show” was in response to Carol Off’s question about an assassinated Turkish writer, a colleage of Pamuk’s. Show up earlier, Orhan, if you have all sorts of taboo topics that cannot be touched. One wonders if the Nobel has gone to his head.

He was a terrible representative of the Turkish people. I for one loved his books, but can’t get his obnoxious and childish behaviour out of my mind at this point.

Carol Off should just stay with the topic–the author’s writings which are his greatest achievement. As for the line-up–there should be a separate entrance for the guests.

I met a woman and her daughter who were concerned about getting tickets to hear Mr. Pamuk speak at the 2009 Toronto International Festival of Authors. But they weren’t worried because they would miss something “I’m sure it will be rebroadcast on TV” the mother said. Instead they wanted to be there to “deflect any questions from …” and they named an ethnic group that I assumed they were not part of. I didn’t remember exactly which one it was or why they were angry at each other. But a politically charged atmosphere to be sure. However in general there were just a ton of fans of his work … and as I watched him sign books for legions of fans … I wondered if in fact it was possible to have too many fans: http://andyewilliams.com/blog/?p=1944

I was behind Pamuk going up the escalator fifteen minutes before the talk. No one else was around. I was too starstruck to say a word to him. I was beside him when he entered through the door to the theatre. No one called out or complained. I think people were also stunned to see him waiting in the line to say anything. (Someone did, though take me to task for allowing a festival worker to go ahead of me.). It seemed a little odd that he would have not been accompanied by someone and in a green room well before the reading. I think that seemingly haphazard approach to the evening came through in the lack of chemistry during the interview. The experience that night at the Festival was memorable, but not particularly ‘festive’.

Only in Canada would someone call what transpired at the Pamuk event as an “audience revolt”. Get over yourselves, guys. It was just a bit of back and forth and stop being so schoolmarmish. I think Orhan Pamuk’s point when he refused to answer a question on Hrant Dink was simple: that he (Dink) was someone he knew well, and that in the talk show format, he did not want to discuss it. In other words, he did not want to exploit something that was of such personal, deep feeling for him. You can hardly accuse Pamuk of being quiet or uninvolved about politics in Turkey. And let’s not forget that he was there that evening to flog his latest novel like most of the other authors at IFOA, so it was entirely fair to want to stick to talking about his books.

Re his attitude to Carol Off, I certainly didn’t see it as antagonistic. He speaks like a European intellectual in such fora, i.e. he’s direct and doesn’t pander to the interviewer. I thought he was refreshingly honest.

Re the strong feelings outside, I was not there to see if there were any angry remarks. But it must be said that the organizers are displaying a certain level of shoddiness in the way they do things. People who arrive late are routinely jumping the queue to get in. This problem could be resolved with a little bit more vigilance as well as a rope going around controlling the queues. Standard crowd control.

The audience at the event should have come to the realization that this is Canada and in this country the government allows us the freedom to express ourselves freely without fear of imprisonment or repression.

Certain audience members’ attempts at silencing Carol Off and disrupting her interview, was equivalent to the Turkish government’s restrictions of freedom of speech through Article 301 of the Turkish Penal code. The very same law Pamuk was charged under for discussing the Armenian Genocide, and the very same law that criminalized an innocent journalist Hrant Dink which led to his assassination.

Hrant Dink’s picture occupied PEN Canada’s empty chair, but unfortunately the atmosphere that night did not show respect for this great man at all. It was as if he was forgotten and left behind in a corner of the stage and any discussions about him were condemned and disregarded.

Discussing article 301 and Hrant Dink was very appropriate since it has had a tremendous impact on what and how authors can write in Turkey, including Pamuk himself. I commend Carol Off for bringing these topics up.