Poet (b. 1879,
Bodrum / Muğla - d. 28 Ocak 1953, İstanbul). He completed his primary education
in Bodrum. He discontinued his studies
at İzmir High School. After he met the famous satirists, Poet Eşref and
Tokadizade Şekip in İzmir, he started writing poetry. He learned to play the reed flute from a
barber in Urfa. In İstanbul, where he was sent to complete his education, he
attended many riotous meetings. Although he was helped by Mehmet Akif Ersoy, he
could not put his life in order. He stayed five years in Egypt where he had
gone 1908.
After his return, he often
became ill because of his heavy drinking and the famous doctor Mazhar Osman at
Bakırköy Mental Hospital treated him.
His life continued in a similarly unorganized way as he tried to make a
living as a musician. He is buried in family graveyard in Kartal. He was the best satire poet in the history of
Turkish literature and also a valuable composer. There are many colorful
anecdotes about his colorful life.
WORKS (Satire Poems):
Hiç (Nothing,
1918), Azâb-ı Mukaddes (Holy
Suffering, 1949).
REFERENCE: Hilmi Yücebaş / Neyzen Tevfik: Hayatı Hatıraları Şiirleri (1958), Seyit Kemal Karaalioğlu / Neyzen Tevfik, Hayatı ve Şiirleri (1984), Mehmet Alpay Kabacalı / Çeşitli Yönleriyle Neyzen Tevfik (1987), Muzaffer Uyguner / Neyzen Tevfik (2000), Mehmet Cemil Ozansü / Neyzen Tevfik (Virgül, sayı: 32, Temmuz-Ağustos 2000), Mehmet Nuri Yardım / Edebiyatımızın Güleryüzü (2002), Yüksel Baştunç / Yangın Adam: Neyzen Tevfik (2001), Orhan Okay / Büyük Türk Klâsikleri (c. 11, 2004), İhsan Işık / Yazarlar Sözlüğü (1990, 1998) - Türkiye Yazarlar Ansiklopedisi (2001, 2004) – Encyclopedia of Turkish Authors (2005) - Resimli ve Metin Örnekli Türkiye Edebiyatçılar ve Kültür Adamları Ansiklopedisi (2006, gen. 2. bas. 2007) - Ünlü Edebiyatçılar (Türkiye Ünlüleri Ansiklopedisi, C. 4, 2013) - Encyclopedia of Turkey’s Famous People (2013).