Ören, Aras

Aras Ören © Nane Diehl

Aras Ören was born in Istanbul on November 1, 1939, but due to an error by the authorities, November 30 was recorded on his birth certificate, and this has been on all his official papers ever since – without Ören being able to change it. Therefore, he now has “two” birthdays. He celebrates November 1 in private, while November 30 is now his official birthday date. He worked as an actor and dramaturge at various theaters. Since 1969 he has lived in Berlin. He was an editor at SFB and head of the Turkish editorial department of RBB’s Radio Multikulti. In 1981 he received the Honorary Award of the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts, in 1985 Aras Ören was awarded the Adelbert von Chamisso Prize, and in 1999 he held a lectureship in poetics at the University of Tübingen. He has been a member of the Akademie der Künste, Berlin, since 2012. Ören writes in Turkish and helps during the translation of his works into German. Some of his works first appeared in German. His work includes Was will Niyazi in der Naunynstraße (1973), Privatexil (1976), Deutschland. Ein türkisches Märchen (1978), Bitte nix Polizei (1981), Berlin-Savignyplatz (1995), and Sehnsucht nach Hollywood (1999). In 2020, Berliner Trilogie was included in the poetry recommendations.

Festival Content

PRODUCTION: What does Niyazi want in Naunynstraße?

A PRODUCTION PREMIERE – Starting in Kreuzberg’s Naunynstraße, Aras Ören’s long poems „What does Niyazi want in Naunyn Street“ “The brief dream from Kağıthane,“ and „The Foreigner is also a House“ published between 1973 and 1980, tell the stories of Turkish migrant workers – of their dreams, their fears and hopes – and also of Germans who lived in Naunynstraße for generations. The poesiefestival berlin will bring the “Berlin Trilogy” to the stage in 2022 in an adaptation by poet Björn Kuhligk, staged by director, translator, and actor Leopold von Verschuer.

Ören, Aras • Seddig, Sylvana • von Verschuer, Leopold • Rheinheimer, Matthias

POETRY IN CONVERSATION REGARDING THE PRODUCTION: What does Niyazi want in Naunynstraße?

READING AND TALK BEFORE THE PREMIERE – His poems are terrifyingly relevant to this day: Over 40 years ago, Aras Ören poetically compacted Turkish migrant workers’ lack of prospects, their illusions of life in Germany, and Turkey’s social reality in his “Berlin Trilogy.” In his writing, bleak and everyday life in Kreuzberg’s Naunynstraße epitomizes many places in Germany. Aras Ören testified to the odyssey of “nameless nobodies.”

Ören, Aras • von Verschuer, Leopold