Öcalan's prison writings have mobilized tens of thousands of people and inspired a revolution in the making in Rojava, northern Syria, while also penetrating the insular walls of academia and triggering debate and reflection among countless scholars.

But how do you engage in a meaningful dialogue with Abdullah Öcalan when he has been held in total isolation since April 2015? By compiling a book of essays written by a globally diverse cast of the most imaginative luminaries of our time, send it to Öcalan’s jailers, and hope that they deliver it to him.

Nazan Üstündağ interviewed Havin Guneser, a spokesperson of the International Initiative “Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan—Peace in Kurdistan" about the book Building Free Life: Dialogues with Öcalan, published by PM Press in 2020.  

Havin Guneser explains the origin of the book, the challenges of creating a dialogue between its contributors and Abdullah Öcalan, imprisoned by the Turkish state since 1999, and held in solitary confinement since 2015, and introduces some of the ideas explored.

Featured in this extraordinary volume are over a dozen writers, activists, dreamers, and scholars whose ideas have been investigated in Öcalan’s own writings. Now these same people have the unique opportunity to enter into a dialogue with his ideas. Building Free Life is a rich exploration of the most critical issues facing humanity today. In the broad sweep of this dialogue, the contributors explore topics ranging from democratic confederalism to women’s revolution, from the philosophy of history to the crisis of the capitalist system, from religion to Marxism and anarchism, 

To buy a copy of Building Free Life:
In North America: pmpress.org/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1043
In Europe and RoW:  pmpress.org.uk/product/building-free-life-dialogues-with-ocalan/
or ask your local independent bookshop to order it in for you
For more information about the International Initiative, visit: freeocalan.org/main