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Voice of LGBTIQ+ in Literature

September 2023 - June 2024
ONLINE

Voice of LGBTIQ+ in Literature is an online story writing workshop project that published a book consisting of the stories written by the participants and its target participant group is LGBTIQ+ individuals who live far from big cities. Ten examples published from the Early Republic Period to the present were read and interpreted together with the participants. During this period, two researchers, two authors of the examined examples and a publishing house founder were guests in the sessions and shared their research and experiences. The second part focused on the stories written by the participants themselves. These stories were also read together, and the opinions of all participants and the organizers of the workshop were obtained. Afterwards, the story book titled Bizden Bize Öyküler - Dokuz Yeni Kalemden Dokuz Kuir Öykü, which included these stories, was published. More than eight hundred copies of the book were delivered to many organizations, writers and editors, especially NGOs. News about the book was made in media such as Kaos GL magazine, and interviews were published.

Mertcan Karakuş

He has graduated from METU, Department of Industrial Design. He worked as a designer and project manager in two companies. He is involved in the LGBTIQ+ movement since the time he was a student. He actively took part in communities such as METU LeGaTo, Kaos GL, Lambda Istanbul. He has written many critical reviews, held interviews and translated many texts, which have been published on websites such as Velvele.net, Argonotlar.com, FakFukFonTV about representation of LGBTIQ+ in literature, visual arts and popular culture.  Using the alias Zakkum Kök, he worked on both voluntary and professional bases in various LGBTIQ+ entertainment venues as a drag performance artist. He has written a novel called Yüzen Küçük Şeyler (Little Floating Things), in which he describes the relationship of LGBTIQ+ people living in Turkey with memory, combining it with his own experience.

This page is published on 7 December 2023.