Humorist (b. 2 January 1916,
İstanbul – d. 5 July 1995, İstanbul). His real name was Mehmet Nusret Nesin.
Aziz was his father’s name. After two years at the School for Orphans, he
graduated from Kuleli Military High School (1935), the War Academy (1937) and
Military Science School (1939). Then he joined the Army as a lieutenant. He
serviced in Trakya for two years during the Second World War. When he was
dismissed from the rank of officer on the allegation of abusing duty and
authority (1945), he began to run a grocer’s shop and then he became a
journalist. He worked as a redactor and writer for the newspapers Yenigün, Karagöz and Tan (1944-45). He published his own
magazine called Cumartesi and with
Sabahattin Ali a humoristic paper called Markopaşa
(1946-47). He continued to publish this magazine even after it was forbidden
several times, under the names of Malumpaşa,
Merhumpaşa, Ali Baba, Bizimpaşa and
Hür Markopaşa. Because of one of his pamphlet, he was sent to prison for
ten months in 1947 and he was exiled for four months. He published the
magazines Baştan and Yeni Baştan. Because of a translation
in this magazine he was sent to prison for sixteen months and was kept under
surveillance for a further sixteen months (1951).
He did various jobs after
release from prison (1953). Meanwhile he established the Düşün Publishing House
with Kemal Tahir (1956), he published the humorous paper Zübük (1961).
He was busy with his writing. The Aziz Nesin Association was founded in his
honor (1972). He published the Literature Almanac for this association from
1976. For a few periods he was the Head of the Writers Syndicate of Turkey
(1977, 1988…).
He started his literary life
with poems and short stories published in the magazine Milliyet (1944). Then he published humorous stories for the
magazines most of which he published or for the magazines which he managed,
sometimes under pen names. He wrote anecdotes for Yeni Gazete (1957), Akşam
(1958), Tanin (1960), Öncü, Yeni Tanin and Günaydın.
He became well-known for his works in which he reflected the distortion in
society with his careful observations. He received many awards at home and
abroad with his works. With his book Üç
Karagöz Oyunu (Three Turkish Puppet Shows, 1968), he won the Karacan Award
first prize in 1968 from Milliyet newspaper, with Çiçu (Çiçu) the
Turkish Language Association 1970 Theatre Award, with his play Pırlatan Bal
(Honey Which Makes You Fart) he came second in the 1974 Arkın Children’s
Literature Award, in 1978 with his novel Yaşar Ne Yaşar Ne Yaşamaz
(Yaşar neither Lives nor Dies) the Madaralı Award and in 1985 he was chosen as
the People's Choice Writer of the Year held by the Fair and Exhibition
Organization Inc. The awards he received abroad: the Golden Palm (Italy,
1956-57), the Golden Hedgehog (Bulgaria, 1966), the Crocodile (USSR, 1969) the
Lotus (the Writers Union of Asia and Africa, 1976), in 1985 PEN Club honorary
membership in the United Kingdom and in 1989 the Tolstoy Gold Medal.
WORKS:
SHORT STORY: Geriye Kalan (The Thing Left Behind,
1948), İt Kuyruğu (Dog Tails, 1955), Yedek Parça (Spares, 1955), Fil
Hamdi (Elephant Hamdi, 1955), Damda
Deli Var (There is a Madman on the Roof, 1956), Koltuk (Armchair, 1957), Kazan
Töreni (Ceremony of the Cauldron, 1957), Toros Canavarı (The Monster of Toros, 1957), Deliler Boşandı (The Crazies Got Divorced, 1957), Mahallenin Kısmeti (The Luck of the
Street, 1957), Ölmüş Eşek (Dead
Donkey, 1957), Hangi Parti Kazanacak
(Which Party Will Win? 1957), Havadan
Sudan (Talking about This and That, 1958), Bay Düdük (Mr. Whistle, 1958), Nazik
Alet (Sensitive Device, 1958), Gıdıgıdı
(Tickling, 1959), Aferin (Well-done,
1959), Kördöğüşü (Fighting of the
Blind, 1959), Mahmut ile Nigar (Mahmut and Nigar, 1960) Gözüne Gözlük (Eyeglasses To Your Eyes,
1960), Ah Biz Eşekler (Oh, We Donkeys, 1960), Yüz
Liraya Bir Deli (A Madman for One Hundred Turkish Liras, 1961), Biz Adam Olmayız (We Cannot Grow Up,
1962), Bir Koltuk Nasıl Devrilir (How
Can a Government be Overthrown, 1961), Sosyalizm
Geliyor Savulun (Out of the Way! Socialism’s Coming, 1965), İhtilali Nasıl Yaptık (How did We
Revolt? 1965), Rıfat Bey Neden Kaşınıyor (Why does Rıfat
Efendi Ask for Trouble, 1965), Yeşil
Renkli Namus Gazı (Green Colored Honorable Air, 1965), Bülbül Yuvası Evler (Houses Like Nightingale Nests, 1968), Vatan Sağol-sun (Long Live Our Country,
1968), Yaşasın Memleket (Long Live
Our Homeland, 1969), Büyük Grev
(General Strike, 1978), Hayvan Deyip
Geçme (Don’t Insult the Animals, 1980), 70
Yaşım Merhaba (Hello my 70th.Year, 1984), Kalpazanlık Bile Yapılamıyor (Even Forgery Cannot be Done, 1984), Maçinli Kız İçin Ev (A House for the
Girl from the Celestial Empire, 1987), Gülmece
Öyküleri (Humorous Short Stories, 13 volumes, his all short stories, 2001).
NOVEL: Kadın Olan Erkek (The Man Who Became a Woman, 1955), Gol Kralı Sait Hop Sait (Goal King Sait,
Jump Sait, 1957), Erkek Sabahat (Male
Beauty, 1957), Saçkıran (Alopecia,
1959), Zübük (Zübük, 1961), Şimdiki Çocuklar Harika (Today’s
Children are Wonderful, 1967), Surname
(Surname*, Poetic Work, 1976), Tek Yol
(The Only Way, 1978).
MEMOIR: Bir Sürgünün Hatıraları (Memories of an Exile, 1957), Böyle Gelmiş Böyle Gitmez (That’s How it
Was, but it'll be Different in the Future, 2 volumes, 1966-1977), Poliste (At the Police Station, 1967), Yokuşun Başı (The Beginning of the
Climb, 1982), Benim Delilerim (My Crazies, 1984), Çağımızın Nasreddin Hocası Aziz Nesin (Aziz Nesin, the Nasreddin
Hoca of Our Age, by Demirtaş Ceyhun, 1984), Salkım
Salkım Asılacak Adamlar (Bunches of Men to be Hung, 1987), Ben de Çocuktum (I Was a Child Once,
1989), Rüyalarım Ziyan Olmasın (Don’t
Waste My Dreams, 1990).
FAIRY-TALE: Memleketin Birinde (In One of the
Countries, 1953), Hoptirinam (Hopping
And Jumping, 1960), Uyusana Tosunum
(Sleep My Dear Young Bull, 1971), Aziz
Dededen Masallar (Fairy-tales from Grandfather Aziz, 1978).
ANECDOTE: Nutuk Makinası (Speech Machine, 1958), Az Gittik Uz Gittik (We Went Close, We
Went Far, 1959), Merhaba (Hello,
1971), Suçlanan ve Aklanan Yazılar
(The Accused and Acquitted Articles, 1982), Ah
Biz Ödlek Aydınlar (Oh, We Faint-Hearted Intellectuals, 1985), Soruşturmada (Under Questioning, answers
to questioning, declarations, 1986), Korkudan
Korkmak (Being Afraid of Fear, 1988), Bulgaristan’da
Kürtler, Türkiye’de Kürtler (The Kurds in Bulgaria, The Kurds in Turkey,
1989), Nah Kalkınırız (We Cannot
Improve Ourselves, 1989).
SATIRE: Azizname (The Book of Aziz, 1979).
TRAVEL LITERATURE: Duyduk Duymadık Demeyin (Don’t Say We
Heard or We Didn’t Hear, 1976), Dünya
Kazan Ben Kepçe (The World is a Cauldron and I am a Ladle, 1977).
PLAY: Biraz Gelir misiniz (Will You Come, Please? 1958), Bir Şey Yap Met ( Do Something Met,
1959), Toros Canavarı (The Monster of
Toros, 1963), Düdükçülerle Fırçacıların
Savaşı (The Fight Between the Whistlers and the Brushers, 1968), Çiçu (Çiçu, 1979), Tut Elimden Rovni (Hold My Hand Rovni, 1970), Hadi Öldürsene Canikom (Come on and Kill Me My Dear, 1970), Beş Kısa Oyun (Five Short Plays, 1979), Bütün Oyunlar (All Plays, 2 volumes,
1982). Barbaros’un Torunu (The
Grandchild of Barbaros), Hakkımı Ver
Hakkı (Give Me My Rights Hakkı)
and Yaşar Ne Yaşar Ne Yaşamaz (Yaşar
Neither Lives Nor Dies) were not published.
POETRY: Sondan Başa (From the End to the Beginning, 1984), Sevgiye On Ölüme Beş Kala (It’s Ten to
Love, Five to Death, 1986), Kendini
Yakalamak (Catching Yourself, 1988), Hoşçakalın
(Goodbye, 1990), Sivas Acısı (The
Pain of Sivas, 1995).
ANTHOLOGY:
Cumhuriyet Döneminde Türk Mizahı (Turkish Humor in the
Period of the Republic, 1973).
SPEECH: İnsanlar Konuşa Konuşa (People Understand Each Other by Speaking,
1988).
ESSAY: Sivas Acısı (The Pain of Sivas, 1995), Çuvala Doldurulmuş Kediler (Cats Put into a Sack, 1995), Sizin Memlekette Eşek Yok mu? (Don’t You
Have Donkeys in Your Country? 1995), Okuduğum
Kitaplar (The Books I Read, 2001).
COLLECTION:
Cumhuriyet Döneminde Türk Mizahı (Turkish Humor in The
Period of the Republic, edited by Aziz Nesin, expanded by Turgut Çeviker,
2001).
LETTER: Mektuplaşmalar 1 / Aziz Nesin Ali Nesin (Correspondence 1 / Aziz Nesin, Ali Nesin, 1994), Canım Oğlum, Sevgili Babacığım, Aziz Nesin-Ali Nesin Mektuplaşmaları 1966-1981 (My Dear Son, My Dear Father, Correspondence between Aziz Nesin and Ali Nesin 1966-1981, 2002).