Born in 1964 (officially in 1962) in a village of Amed (Diyarbakır) Province, Polat attended high school and university in the same city. He was tried and arrested many times because of his books and writings while he worked as a biology teacher. He has been working for the Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality as a biologist and linguist since 1999. In 2004, he founded, the Kurdish Writers’ Association together with a group of his friends, and presided over it for some time. He wrote his dissertation, Legendary Loves in Several Kurdish Prose Works, and received a master’s degree in the Department of Kurdish Language and Culture, Artuklu University, in February 2015. Polat, who is the father of two children, lives in Diyarbakır and continues working as an official biologist.
Works:
Novels:
Newrozladık Şafakları (We Have Changed the Twilights into Newroz), Pelêsor Editions, 1990 (second edition, Başak Editions, 1991; third edition, Tevn Editions, 2008)
Sevgilim Sevgisiz Ölüm (Loveless Death, My Love), Sis Editions, 1998
Ristemê Zal (Rostam, the Son of Zal), Evrensel Editions, 2007
Dûvpişk Bi Xwe Venade (The Scorpion Doesn’t Sting Itself), Evrensel Editions, 2011
Pênc Mifte û Wijdanek (Five Keys and a Conscience), J&J Editions, 2015
Poetry:
Hawara Roboskî (The Cry of Roboskî), Ronahî Editions, 2012
Short story collections:
Şorbe û Fedî, Xela û Xeyidî (Soup and Shame, Famine and Vexation), Pêrî Editions, 2005
“Zinacı” (“The Fornicator”), Pêrî Editions, 1999
Research, scholarship, and memoir:
Diyarbakır Gerçeği (The Truth of Diyarbakır), Form Offset, 1998 (second edition, The Book Series of the Human Rights Association Editions, 1989; third edition, Başak Editions, 1991)
Devletsiz Ülkeden İzdüşümler (Projections from the Stateless Country), Pelêsor Editions, 1992
Bilim Dilinde Kürtler ve Kürdistan, (The Kurds and Kurdistan in Scientific Language), Öteki Editions, 1992 (second edition, Evrensel Editions, 2004; third edition, Evrensel Editions, 2008)
Translations:
Kundê Kor (The Blind Owl), Sadegh Hedayet, Kora Editions, 1990
Cesur Yeni Dünya (Brave New World), Aldous Huxley, Yaba Editions, 1998
Meridyen (Meridian), Alice Walker, Sis Editions, 1997
Günlüğümden Notlar (Fragments from My Diary), Maxim Gorky, Doruk Editions, 1998
Askeri Darbe (Coup d’Etat), Edward Luttwak, Yaba Editions, 1998
Dımdım Kalesi (The Fortress of Dimdim), Erebê Şemo, Evrensel Editions, 2005
Cegerxwîn’in Yaşamı ve Şiir Anlayışı (Cegerxwîn’s Life and Poetical Perception), Ordîxanê Celîl, Evrensel Editions, 2004
Awards:
The 1994 PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award
The 1994 Human Rights Watch Freedom of Expression Award
Contact information:
Email address: edippolat@yandex.com.[1]