Writer (b. 1936, İstanbul). He studied
ceramics, philosophy and art history in Paris (1958-64) for six years where he
had gone when he was a final grade student at İstanbul Academy of Fine Arts,
Department of Painting. He stayed in Paris one more year after having completed
his military service in Beypazarı and a village in Hakkari, which influenced
him to write Hakkari’de Bir Mevsim
(One Season in Hakkari). He worked in advertising after his return to Turkey.
He established and administered Ada Publishing House.
His literary
career started with his poetry published in the reviews Kayak (1952-53), Şairler
Yaprağı (1954), Mavi (1954) and Yeni Ufuklar (1962). Then he started to
write novels and short stories at which he was more successful. His short
stories, research and translations were published in reviews such as Yeni Ufuklar, Pazar Postası, Dost
(1954-59), Yeni Dergi, Papirüs, Antalya and Soyut. He wrote about the psychical and
sexual depression of the affluent and intellectual in his novels and short
stories. He won the Sait Faik Short Story Award with his short story book Bir Gemide (On a Ship, 1979) and the
Turkish Language Association Essay Award in 1979 with Ders Notları (Course Notes, 1978). He shared the Sedat Simavi
Literature Award with İlhan Berk with his novel Eylül'ün Gölgesinde Bir Yazdı (It Was A Summer in the Shadow of
September, 1988). His novel O (He)
was adapted for the cinema with the name Hakkari'de
Bir Mevsim (A Season in Hakkari). This film won awards at the Berlin
Festival and the Second Mediterranean Film Festival (1983).
WORKS:
SHORT-STORY: Kaçkınlar (The Fugitives, 1959), Bozgun (The Defeat, 1962), Av (The Hunt, 1967), Bir Gemide (On a Ship, 1978), Çığlık (The Scream, 1982), Ressamın Öyküsü (Story of the Painter,
1991), Doğu Öyküleri (Stories of the
East, 1996), İşte Deniz, Maria (The
Sea, Maria, 1999), Do Sesi (Do Noise,
2002), İlk Öyküler-Kaçkınlar-Bozgun-Devam (First
Stories-The Fugitives-The Defeat-Sequel, 2003).
NOVEL: Kimse (No One, 1976), She (She, 1977, under the name She / A
Season in Hakkari, 1986), Eylül'ün
Gölgesinde Bir Yazdı (It Was A Summer in the Shadow of September, 1988).
ESSAY: Kültür Emperyalizmi (Cultural
Imperialism, session notes; with Abidin Dino, Pertev Naili Boratav, Güzin Dino
and Abdel Malek), Ders Notları
(Course Notes, 1979), Yazmak Eylemi
(The Act of Writing, 1980), Şimdi Saat
Kaç (What is the Time Now?, 1986), Van
Gogh Yüzyıl Sonra (Van Gogh A Century Later, 1990), Yeni Ders Notları (New Course Notes, 1991), Binbir Hece (One Thousand and One Syllables, 1991), Tüm
Ders Notları (Complete Course Notes, 2000), Şimdi Saat Kaç (What is the Time Now?, 2003).
POETRY: Ah Minel Aşk (In the Hands of Love,
1978), Seyir Sözcükleri (Words of
Progress, 1996), Dağ Şiirleri
(Mountain Poems, 1999).
OTHER WORKS: Bedri Rahmi Binbir Bedros (Bedri Rahmi
One Thousand and One Bedros, 1977), Bedri
Rahmi Babatomiler (Bedri Rahmi Babatomi’s, 1978), [Yüksel] Arslan ([Yüksel]
Arslan, 1978), Aliye Berger (Aliye Berger, 1980), Eren Eyüboğlu (Eren
Eyüboğlu, 1981), Türk Hat Sanatı
(Turkish Calligraphy Art, sketches, examples, 1984; separate English version of
this book, 1988), Osman Hamdi (Osman
Hamdi, with Mustafa Cezar, 1986), Ergin
İnan (Ergin İnan, painting,
1988, separate German version of this book, 1988), Mustafa Pilevneli (Mustafa
Pilevneli, painting, 1988), Abidin
Dino / Antibes Resimleri (Abidin Dino / Paintings of Antibes, 1989), Karapınar Türü Halılar (Karapınar Type
Carpets, 1989), Ressamın Öyküsü
(Story of the Painter, with Ergin İnan, 1991), Avni Arbaş (1992), Füreya /
Ateş ve Sır (Füreya / Fire and Poetry, 1992), Fikret Mualla (Fikret Mualla, 1995), Komet (Comet, 1999), Adnan
Varınca (Adnan Varınca,
2000), Avni Arbaş (Avni Arbaş, 2001), İnsanlık Halleri (Human
Behavior, 2003), Abidin (Abidin, 2004).