Poet (b. 1903,
İstanbul - d. 16 May 1984). He began his education at the Jesuit
School in Bingazi, where his father worked. He continued his education at a
French School in Kumkapı and at Hadıka-i Meşveren Secondary School and graduated
from İstanbul High School for Boys. He began to study theatre by entering the
Academy of Fine Arts in 1921. He studied theatre and music at the Stern Music
Conservatory and Reinhart Theatre Academy in Germany. After coming back to
Turkey, he worked as an actor and a stage director at the Metropolitan Theatre
of İstanbul (1935-1947) and as a teacher at the State Conservatory (1951-1961).
He worked as a journalist, as an broadcaster and editor-in-chief at Ankara
radio for sometime. In 1930s, he performed in plays such as Bir Millet Uyanıyor (A Nation is Awakening) and Karım Beni
Aldatırsa (If My Wife Betrays Me).
He earned his real fame with his poems.
His first poems appeared in the book Çelenk
(The Wreath), which he
published together with his nine friends (1920), and later in the periodicals Resimli Ay and Servet-i Fünun. He wrote in reviews and newspapers such as Mektep, Hareket, Sanat Hareketleri, Yeni
Yol, Yedigün, Yücel, Ses, Yarın, Savaş, Ulus. He became well known for
being one of the first people to oppose traditional poetry. He used Western
trends rather than traditional styles.
WORKS:
POETRY:
S.O.S. (SOS, 1931), Kaos (The Chaos, 1934), Açıl Kilidim Açıl (Open My Lock, Open,
1940), Mau Mau (1962), Üç Anadolu (Three Anatolias, 1964), Bütün Eserleri (All works, prepared by
Doğan Hızlan, 2005).
PLAY:
Karagöz Stepte (Karagöz Is on
the Steppe, 1960), Altın Gazap (The
Golden Wrath, 1971).