Philosopher, poet and writer (b.
26 May 1905, İstanbul – d. 25 May 1983). In his autobiography O ve Ben
(Him and Me) his birth date is given as 26 May 1320-1904 / Rebiülevvel (the
third month according to the Arabic calendar) 1323. The equivalent of these
fiscal and Muslim calendar dates is 1905. Necip Fazıl coming from a family in
Maraş spent his childhood in Çemberelitaş, İstanbul at the mansion of his
grandfather who was a retired law chief. He completed primary and secondary schools
at the American and French Colleges and at the Naval High School. He first
began to take an interest in literature and culture at this school. Yahya
Kemal, Ahmet Hamdi (Akseki), İbrahim Aşki Efendi and Hamdullah Suphi were among
the prominent people of the time who were his teachers at high school. He left
İstanbul University, Department of Philosophy without completing (1924) then
attended Sorbonne University, Department of Philosophy in France to where he
was sent (1924-25). He returned to Turkey after his bohemian days in Paris and
worked as a supervisor and account director at the Holland, Ottoman and
İş Banks (1928-39). He worked
as a lecturer at a French school, Robert College, the İstanbul Fine Arts
Academy, the Ankara State Conservatoire and Ankara University, Faculty of
Language, History and Geography (1939-43). He concentrated on intellectual and
artistic activities in the following years. He passed away at his house in
Erenköy. He is buried in Eyüp Graveyard.
He started writing poems at his
mother’s request when he was 12. His first published poem, Kitabe
(Epitaph), which later would be included in the book Örümcek Ağı (The
Cobweb) with the title Bir Mezar Taşı (A Tomb Stone) appeared in the
review Yeni Mecmua in 1923. The poetry books, Örümcek Ağı (The
Cobweb, 1925) and Kaldırımlar (Pavements, 1928), which he published
after returning to Paris stimulated excitement and brought admiration from the
literary world. From a young age, after his poems were published and reviewed
in the journals Millî Mecmua and Yeni Hayat, he was considered a
leading writer amongst contemporary poets.
He was admired for his poetry book, Ben ve Ötesi, (Me and
Beyond), which he published when he was under 30, as much as he was with the
ones he had published before.
In his poems he
used syllabic meter very successfully.
The year 1934 was really the
start of a new period in the life of Necip Fazıl who still continued
philosophical research and felt the start of a new period intensely when he was
at the height of his fame. During the days he was leading an intense bohemian
lifestyle, Necip Fazıl met Nakshbendi Şeyh Abdulhakim Arvasi who was preaching
a sermon at Beyoğlu Ağa Mosque and from then on couldn’t break the tie with
him. Necip Fazıl produced theatrical works that carried an outstanding ethical
philosophy to Turkish literature during this period. His plays such as Tohum
(Seed), Para (Money), Bir Adam Yaratmak (To Create a Man), sold
out for weeks and attracted great attention. Among these works, “To Create a
Man” is one of the most powerful plays of Turkish theatre. The characteristics
of Necip Fazıl which were as important as his being poet and playwright were
his success in enriching Turkish intellectual life and the effort he gave to
his works published in the following reviews.
He published the first 6 issues
of the weekly review, Ağaç (1936, issue 17) in Ankara and continued in
İstanbul, in which famous writers of the period featured. The review Büyük
Doğu, (weekly: 1943-50, 1954, 1959-67, 1971-78, daily: 1951-52, monthly:
1969), the first issue of which he published on 17 December 1943 was published
periodically until 14 June 1978. In the lawsuits brought against him for his
severe and unstinting opposition to İsmet Paşa and the Republican People’s
Party, imprisonment for a hundred years was demanded. He was imprisoned for a
few years under article 163 of the constitution (like the event of Ahmet Emin
Yalman). His prison memoirs are included in his work titled Cinnet Mustatili
(Triangle of Madness), it was also published with the title Yılanlı Kuyudan (From the Well
with Snakes).
He published his daily columns
and various articles in the newspapers, Yeni İstanbul, Son Posta,
Babıalide Sabah, Bugün, Millî Gazete, Hergün and Tercüman during the
period when the review, Büyük Doğu, which was often closed on the
decision of the Council of Ministers and confiscated for various reasons, was
not published. In his articles published in Büyük Doğu, he used the pen
names Adıdeğmez, Mürid and Ahmet Abdülbaki as well as his own name. Besides
these, he used the pen names Neslihan Kısakürek, Prof. Ş. Ü, Tanrı Kulu,
Dedektif x, Bir and Ozan. He attracted great attention with the conferences he
held in various Anatolian cities from 1962. His great service to Turkish
culture with his philosophical works especially with Ideolocya Örgüsü
(Ideological Fiction, 1959) is his superior attribute. Necip Fazıl, whose 50th
year in Art was celebrated with a ceremony held at the National Turkish
Students Association in 1980, collected the Great Award of the Ministry of
Culture in 1980, the National Foundation of Culture Award (1981) and the
Writers Union of Turkey Superior Service Award (1982) with his work titled İman
ve İslam Atlası (Atlas of Faith and Islam). He was dignified with the name
“Sultanü’ş – Şuara” (Sultan of the Poets) by the title of privilege
given by the Foundation of Turkish Literature in 1980. 2005, the 100th
anniversary of Necip Fazıl’s birth, was declared “The Year of Necip Fazıl” by
the Ministry of Culture.
WORKS:
POETRY: Örümcek Ağı (The
Cobweb, 1925), Kaldırımlar (Pavements, 1928), Ben ve Ötesi (Me
and Beyond, 1932), Çile (Suffering, 1962), Şiirlerim (My Poems,
1969), Esselam (Greetings, 1973).
PLAY:
Tohum (Seed, 1935), Bir Adam Yaratmak (To Create a Man, 1938,
filmed by Yücel Çakmaklı and screened, 1978). Künye (Identification Tag,
1940), Sabırtaşı (The Epitome of Patience, 1940), Para (Money,
1942), Nam-ı Diğer Parmaksız Salih (Well-known Fingerless Salih, 1949,
adapted for the cinema, 1950), Reis Bey (Reis Bey, 1964, adapted for the
cinema by Mesut Uçakan and shown during İstanbul Cinema Festival, 1989), Ahşap
Konak (Wooden Mansion, 1964), Siyah Pelerinli Adam (The Man with the
Black Cape, 1964), Ulu Hakan Abdülhamid Han (The Great Emperor
Abdülhamid Khan, 1965), Yunus Emre (Yunus Emre 1969), Kanlı Sarık
(Bloody Sarık*, 1970), Mukaddes
Emanet (The Holy Trust, 1971), İbrahim Edhem (İbrahim Edhem
1978), Bütün Eserleri (All His
Works, three volumes, all his plays except for İbrahim Edhem, Ministry
of Culture Publications, 1976). His play, Kumandan ve Sır (The Commander
and the Secret) was serialized in the review Büyük Doğu but it was not
completed.
SHORT
STORY: Birkaç Hikâye Birkaç Tahlil (Several Short Stories and Several
Analyses, 1933), Ruh Burkuntularından Hikâyeler (Short Stories from Sad
Souls, 1965), Hikâyelerim (My Stories, 1973).
NOVEL: Aynadaki Yalan (The
Lie in the Mirror, 1970), Kafa Kağıdı (Identity Card, 1983).
SCENARIO: Vatan Şairi Namık
Kemal (The Motherland Poet Namık Kemal, 1944), Senaryo Romanları
(Screenplay Novels, six scripts, 1972, some of them were adapted for the cinema
with different names), Battal Gazi (Clumsy Veteran, serialized in Büyük
Doğu), Yangın Var (Fire!, filmed and the screenplay was published).
MONOGRAPH: Eseri ve Tesiriyle
Namık Kemal (Namık Kemal, His Work and Its Impact, 1940), Ulu Hakan
Abdulhamid Han (The Great Emperor Abdulhamid Han, 1965), Vatan Haini
Değil Büyük Vatan dostu Vahidüddin (Vahidüddin, A Great Lover of the
Motherland, Not a Traitor, 1968), Benim Gözümde Menderes (Menderes In My
Opinion, 1970).
PHILOSOPHY-MEMOIR: Çerçeve
(Frame, 1940), Maskenizi Yırtıyorum (I’m Ripping Your Mask, 1953), At’a
Senfoni (Symphony to a Horse, 1958), Türkiye’nin Manzarası (State of
Turkey, 1968), Binbir Çerçeve I – V (Thousands of Frames I-V, five books
titled 101 Frames, 1968-69), Çepeçevre Anadolu ve Gençlik (All Around
Anatolia and Youth, 1969), Çepeçevre Sosyalizm, Komünizm ve İnsanlık
(All Around Socialism, Communism and Humanity, 1969), Son Devrin Din
Mazlumları (Modest Religious People of The Last Age,1969), Yeniçeri
(Janissary, 1970), Tarihimizde Moskof (Russians in Our History, 1973), Cumhuriyet’in
50. Yılında Türkiye’nin Manzarası (The Image of Turkey on the 50th
Anniversary of the Republic, 1973), İhtilal (The Revolution, 1976), Rapor
1-13 (Report, 1976-80).
RELIGION – MYSTICISM: Halka–dan
Pırıltılar (Sparkles from the Ring, 1948), Çöle İnen Nur (The Holy
Light Casting on the Desert, 1950), Altın Zincir (Golden Chain, 1959), Altun
Halka (Golden Ring, 1960), O ki O Yüzden Varız (That is the
Reason of Our Existence, 1961), İlim Beldesinin Kapısı Hz. Ali (Esteemed
Ali, The Door to the City of Science, 1964), Hulefa-i Raşidin Menkıbelerine
Ait Bir Pırıltı Binbir Işık (The Gleam of Thousands of Lights of the
Hulefa-i Raşidin Legends, 1965), Peygamber Halkası (The Prophet Ring,
1968), Tanrı Kulundan Dinlediklerim (The Things I Heard from the Servant
of God, 1968), Nur Harmanı (Harvest of Holy Light, 1970), Başbuğ
Velilerden 33 (From the Principal Saints 33, 1974), Veliler Ordusunda 33
(Among the Saints 33, 1976), Doğru Yolun Sapık Kolları (Perverted
Deviations of the True Way, 1978), İman ve İslam Atlası (Atlas of Faith
and Islam, 1981), Batı Tefekkürü ve İslam Tasavvufu (Thoughts of the
West and Islam Sufism, 1982).
SPEECH AND CONFERENCE: Abdülhak
Hamid ve Dolayısıyla (Abdül–hak Hamid and So, 1937), Müdafaa
(Defense, 1946), Her Cephesiyle Komünizma (Communism in All Its Aspects,
1961), Türkiye’de Komünizma ve Köy Enstitüleri (Communism in Turkey and
the Village Institutions, 1962), İman ve Aksiyon (Faith and Action,
1964), İki Hitabe (Two Speeches, Haghia Sophia – the Common Soldier,
1966), Müdafaalarım (My Defenses, 1969), Hitabe (The Speech, 26
speeches, 1975), Yolumuz, Halimiz, Çaremiz (Our Way, State and Remedy,
1977).
MEMOIR: Cinnet Mustatili
(Rectangle of Madness, prison memoirs, 1955, with the title “From The Well with
Snakes”, 1970), Büyük Kapı (Great Door, 1965 with the title He / She and
Me, 1974), Hac (Pilgrimage, 1973), Babıâli (The Sublime Porte,
1975).
His translations and simplifications were also published. New editions of his works were published by Büyük Doğu Publishing House after his death.