Mehmet Zeren

Poet and novelist (b. 1952, Mışmış district / Baskil / Elazığ). He grown up by listening the wars of Esteemed Ali, Yunus Emre and shepherd’s pipe from his father. He attended Elazığ Sürsürü Primary School (1962), Tunceli Teachers Training School for Boys (1969) and graduated from Erzurum Atatürk University, Faculty of Literature, Department of Turkish Language and Literature (1978). He sold simits, painted shoes and shephered the animals in summers from his third grade of primary school. He worked as class teacher in the villages of Palu District of Elazığ (1969-1979), as literature teacher in Elazığ (1979-81), Kastamonu (1981-82), Cide (1982-83) and İstanbul (1983-95). He retired in 1995 and founded Hazen Publications.

His first articles were published in local newspapers and the reviews like Doğuş, Erciyes, Türk Folkloru from 1979. In addition to his novels and text books, he has study and research works about the culture of Elazığ, Harput. His novel Öz Yurdunda Garipsin (You are Strange in Your Own Homeland) were sent to the court and confiscated, it was cleared in 1990.

WORKS:

NOVEL: Öz Yurdunda Garipsin I-II-III-IV (You are Strange in Your Own Homeland, I-III-IV, 1987-88-89-99), Gözyaşları (Tears, 1987), Vahşet / Filistin Kan Ağlarken (Brutality / When Palestine Bleeds, 1988), Kurban (Victim, 1988), Karanlıklar Dağılınca (When the Darkness Disappears, 1988), Kötü (Bad, 1990), Pişmanlık (Regret, 1990), Dönüş (Return, 1990), Çırpınış (Fluttering, 1991), İşkence (Torture, 1991), Bosna'da Katliam (Massacre in Bosnia, 1993), Aldırma Reis (Don’t Worry, Reis, 1999), Gizli El (Secret Hand, 2004).

POETRY: Şiire Doğru (To the Poetry, 1990).

In addition, he has collections and children’s books.