Prominent Kurdish writer Bachtyar Ali (Bextiyar Elî) has been awarded the prestigious Hilde Domin Prize for Literature in Exile for the year 2023, the city of Heidelberg has announced. The award, which comes with a cash prize of €15,000, was presented to Ali by Mayor Martina Pfister at a ceremony held at Heidelberg Town Hall on 12 March.
The prize, which is awarded every three years, honours the contribution of writers who live in exile in Germany or who, through their origins, have dealt with the theme of exile and explored it in their literary works written in German.
The literature of the writer, whose life was shaped by the war in Iraqi Kurdistan, stands as a beacon of humanity amidst the turmoil of crises and conflicts, the jury said in its statement. Through his extraordinary narrative skills, Ali transforms the harsh realities of violence and loss into stories of political and social significance, weaving tales that resonate with magic, hope and humanity without diminishing the severity of war’s atrocities.
“His novels are an epitaph to the victims, a great story of friendship, betrayal and suffering, of the search for truth, reconciliation without retaliation, and of survival with and through stories,” the jury added.
Ali’s contributions to literature have been hailed as a gift and an enrichment to German literary culture. His works challenge readers to look beyond the surface, offer a safeguard against ideological conformity, and encourage emotional and intellectual expansion. In his eulogy, Stefan Weidner emphasised the importance of literature in resisting ideological manipulation and celebrating diversity of thought and expression.
Born in Sulaymaniyah in northern Iraq in 1966, Ali’s literary journey began against the backdrop of Saddam Hussein’s oppressive regime. His involvement in student protests in 1983 marked the beginning of his path towards literary and political activism. Ali’s bibliography, rich in novels, poetry and essays, includes significant works that have not only been acclaimed in the Kurdish literary sphere, but have also had a profound impact in Germany, where he has lived since the mid-1990s.
Ali’s literary achievements have been recognised with several awards, including the HARDI Literature Prize in 2009 and the Sherko Bekas Literature Prize in 2014, in recognition of his unbiased criticism of political and social issues in Kurdistan. The Nelly Sachs Prize, awarded to him in 2017, further cements his status as a prominent figure in literature.
The Hilde Domin Prize, named in honour of the German poet and writer Hilde Domin, who herself experienced exile, continues to support and recognise the invaluable contributions of writers whose work explores the complexities of displacement, identity and belonging.