Boston Book Festival 2009
Saturday, October 24
Come to Copley Square in Boston for a full day of indoor and outdoor events and exhibitions for book lovers of all ages at the Boston Book Festival 2009.


PEN New England is proud to co-sponsor
Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk's Keynote Address

Saturday, October 24th at 5:00 p.m.


Orhan Pamuk PEN New England is a proud partner of the Boston Book Festival '09 and we are honored to co-sponsor the Keynote Address.  Orhan Pamuk, winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize for Literature, will give the presentation on Saturday, October 24th at 5:00 p.m. 

Pamuk's new book, The Museum of Innocence, is his first since winning the Nobel Prize and has been eagerly anticipated by his English-language readers.  The book was published in Turkey in 2008 but the English edition will be released a mere four days before the Festival.  For those who can't wait, read an excerpt in the September 7 issue of The New Yorker. 

The Museum of Innocence, like most of Pamuk's novels, is set in his beloved Istanbul.  And as in most of his novels, the contradiction between the modern and the deeply traditional inherent in that vast city plays a subtle role.  It is against this backdrop that The Museum of Innocence offers a stirring exploration of the nature of romantic attachment and the mysterious allure of collecting. 

Pamuk is no stranger to the compulsion to collect.  His early years were spent amassing a huge library of books about all things Turkish and his happiest moments were spent in second-hand bookstores. 

Pamuk writes, "I was missing out on life by burying myself in books-- but even when I'd realized this, I'd still keep buying books, as if to take revenge on the life I was fleeing.  It is only now, so many years later, that I realize how happy those hours were..."  As for Pamuk's experience of love, we will leave that question to his interlocutor, Christopher Lydon, host of Radio Open Source.  The conversation is sure to be engaging. 

PEN New England is especially pleased to co-sponsor this event: Pamuk is an outspoken critic of Turkey's role in the Armenian genocide and in 2005 was charged for violating Turkish law by insulting the Turkish Republic.  PEN joined an international outcry in defense of Pamuk's right to free expression and, soon after, charges were dropped.

Please join us at the Boston Book Festival on Saturday, October 24 at 5:00 p.m. in the sanctuary of Old South Church for the keynote presentation by Orhan Pamuk.   

This event is free and open to the public.

PEN (Poets/Playwrights, Essayists/Editors, Novelists) New England is an organization of published authors, aspiring writers, and all who love the written word.  Our mission is to advance the cause of literature in New England and defend free expression everywhere. PEN New England is a branch of PEN American Center, and part of International PEN, the oldest international literary organization and also the oldest human rights organization in the world.