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Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk paid a moving tribute to his father on Thursday, crediting him with introducing him to the world of literature, in a Nobel lecture given in Stockholm just days before he receives the prestigious prize.
The 2006 laureate, who delivered his very personal speech in Turkish at the Swedish Academy, described the work of a writer as "a person who shuts himself up in a room, sits down at a table, and, alone, turns inward" to "build a new world with words".
He entitled his speech "My Father's Suitcase", a reference to a suitcase containing his father's writings from his youth that he gave him before he died in 2002.
The texts, which will remain under lock and key, provided the basis for Pamuk's lecture, during which he addressed many questions about his writing.
"I write because I am angry at all of you, angry at everyone ... I write because it is exciting to turn all of life's beauties and riches into words," he said.
Pamuk's father chose not to pursue a career in literature, a craft that requires "patience, obstinacy", but did pass on to his son his passion for books and freedom and encouraged him to write, the Nobel laureate said.
"When I looked at my father's library from afar, it seemed to me to be a small picture of the real world," Pamuk said in his speech, which he spent two months honing and which entirely avoided the issue of politics.
"My father died in December 2002. ... I dearly wish he could be amongst us," he concluded, receiving a standing ovation.
Pamuk, author of "My Name is Red", "Snow" and half-a-dozen other novels, will receive his Nobel prize at a formal ceremony in Stockholm on Sunday.
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AFP 071920 GMT 12 06
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