Playwright (b. 7
January 1922, Diyarbakır – d. 13 February 2001, Ankara). He attended the
Diyarbakır High School (1939) and graduated from İstanbul University, Faculty
of Medicine (1945). After working as a governmental doctor in different cities
and provinces (1946-52), he became an expert of child diseases (1955). He
worked as a doctor in Germany for eight years and later in Ankara.
His poems were published in the
reviews Yaratış, İstanbul (1943-44), Varlık and Hisar (1952-56). Later on, he gave up poetry and focused on
writing plays. His plays were staged many times at State and Municipal Theatres
in Ankara and İstanbul. He ranked first at a competition held by the General
Directorate of Press and Broadcasting in 1956 with his radio play Kocaoğlan (Kocaoğlan) and collected the
Turkish Language Association Theatre Award in 1960 with Tanrılar ve İnsanlar (Gods and Men), first prize at the Arts Awards
Competition held by the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation in 1970 with Atçalı Kel Mehmet (Atçalı Kel Mehmet)
and the third prize at the Karagöz Texts Competition held by the Ministry of
Culture in 1964 with Hacivat Politikacı ve Karagöz Emekli (Hacivat
the Politician and Karagöz the Pensioner). In 1973, he collected the İsmet
Küntay Award. His play Şili’de Av (Hunt
in Chile) was selected the play of the year in 1975 by the review Tiyatro 74. He collected the İsmet
Küntay Award in 1980 with his play Ölü
Kentin Nabzı (Pulse of the Dead City), the Avni Dilligil Theatre Award and
İş Bank Grand Award for Theatre in 1983 with Ölümü Yaşamak / Ya Devlet Başa, Ya Kuzgun Leşe (Living the Death /
Ya Devlet Başa, Ya Kuzgun Leşe (an adverb means that either the state or the
chaos).
Famous for his plays on
historical events, Orhan Asena was regarded as the Shakespeare of the Turkish
theatre with his productiveness, themes and discourse of his plays. On the day
he died his play Yıldız Yargılaması
(Judging Stars) was being staged at the Bursa State Theatre.
WORKS:
POETRY: Masal (Fairy-Tale, 1941), Kıt
Kanaat (Hand to Mouth, 1957), Kurtuluş Savaşı Destanı (Epic of the
Independence War, 1995).
PLAY: Tanrılar ve İnsanlar / Gılgamış (Gods and Men/Gilgamesh, staged as
an opera with music composition by Nüvit Kodallı, 1952; Gılgameş Operası (The
Opera of Gilgamesh, published in 1968), Korku
(Fear, 1956), Hürrem Sultan (Hürrem
Sultan, 1960), Kocaoğlan (Kocaoğlan,
1962), Yalan (Lie, 1962), Gecenin Sonu (The End of the Night, one
act, staged in 1962, published in 1964), Kapılar
(Doors, was not staged, published in 1963), Mustafa
(Mustafa, children’s play, 1963), Gecenin
Sonu (The End of the Night, one act, 1964), Toroslardan Öteye (Beyond the Taurus, 1964; staged in 1968), Tohum ve Toprak / Alemdar Paşa (Seed and
Soil/Alemdar Paşa, 1966), Hacivat
Politikacı (Hacivat the Politician, 1964), Fadik Kız (Fadik Girl, 1966), Öç
(Revenge, 1968), Korkunç Oyun
(Horrible Play, 1968), Murtaza
(Murtaza, staged in 1968), Simavnalı Şeyh
Bedrettin (Şeyh Bedrettin from Simavna, 1969), Geçkin Kız (Old Girl, 1971), El
Kapısı (Other People’s Home, 1972), 16 Mart 1920 (16 March 1920, 1974), Karagöz Emekli (Karagöz the Pensioner,
1974), Şili’de Av (Hunt in Chile,
1975), Ölü Kentin Nabzı (Pulse of the
Dead City, 1978), Ya Devlet Başa Ya
Kuzgun Leşe (Either the State Takes the Power or the Raven Takes the
Carrion, 1978), Atçalı Kel Mehmed
(Bald Mehmet from Atça, 1979), Yıldız Yargılaması (Judging Stars), Devlet ve İnsan (State and Man, in
collaboration with Güngör Dilmen, 1990), Şili’de
Av (Hunt in Chile), Bir Başkana Ağıt
(Requiem for a President), Ölü Kentin
Nabzı (Pulse of a Dead City, 1992), Ölümü
Yaşamak (Living the Death, 1994), Ayla
Öğretmen (Ayla the Teacher, 1994), Kurtuluş
Savaşı Destanı (Epic of the Independence War, 1995), Hünkâr Bektaş Veli (Hünkâr Bektaş Veli*, musical, 1995), Yunus Emre (Yunus Emre, musical, 1995), Nazım Üçlemesi (Nazım Trilogy, 1995), Ana (Mother), Elkapısı (Other People’s Homes), İkili Yaşam (Dual Life, one act play), Tek Perdelikler: Kapılar, Öç, Korkunç Oyun (One Acts: Doors, Revenge, Horrible Play), Bir
Kadın Üstüne Çeşitlemeler (Variations on a Woman).
CHILDREN’S PLAY: Mustafa
(Mustafa, 1963), Ali (Ali, 1979), Dede-Torun (Grandfather-Grandson, 1993).
UNPUBLISHED PLAYS (with dates of
staging): Bir Ölü Dolaşıyor (A Dead
Man is Walking, 1945), Garipdede Çıkmazı (Dead-end
of Garipdede, 1950), Büyük Curcuna
(Grand Flamboyance, Karagöz Play), Karagöz
Emekli, Hacivat Politikacı (Karagöz the Pensioner, Hacivat the Politician,
1964), Murtaza (Murtaza, 1966, from
the novel with the same title by Orhan Kemal), Sığıntı (Refugee), Candan Can
Koparmak (Taking Life out of Life), Ana
Baba Günleri (Parent Days), Sağırlar
Söğüşmesi (Swearing of the Dumb, 1967, published as Citizen A, Citizen B
and Citizen C in the review Türk Dili), Dayım
Evleniyor (My Uncle is Getting Married, written between the years 1964 and
1970, adapted from the novel with the title “Stepancikovo Village” by
Dostoyevsky), Satrançtaki Şah (Shah
in Chess; Kral Düşü- The King’s
Dream, 1967), Kaçış (Runaway, 1969), Adamın
Biri (A Man, 1971), Sıfırın Ötesi (Beyond
Zero; Küçük Adamın Büyük Düşleri -
Great Dreams of a Little Man, written in 1972), Ankara 1920 (Ankara 1920, 1973), Ak Kartalın Oğlu (Son of the White Eagle, 1974), İlk Yıllar (First Years; Roksolan, 1981), Seyisbaşı Konağı (Mansion of Seyisbaşı, 1981), Bir Ömrün Akşamında (In the Evening of a Life, 1993), Yalnız Tanrının Eli Titremez (It’s Only
God’s Hands that do not Shake).
SCENARIO and LIBRETTO: Candan Can Koparmak (Taking Life out of
Life, 1993), Nüvit Kodallı / Gılgameş
(Nüvit Kodallı/Gilgamesh, dramatic opera, 4 acts; libretto by Orhan Asena,
1965), Nüvit Kodallı / Van Gogh (Nüvit
Kodallı/Van Gogh, libretto by Orhan Asena), Bölümü
Libretto Yayınları (Publications of Libretto Sections, ?).
REFERENCE: 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), Şevket Beysanoğlu / Diyarbakırlı Fikir ve Sanat Adamları (c. 3., 1997, s. 127-169), Hülya Nutku / Cumhuriyet’in 75. Yılında 75 Yılın Tanığı Bir Yazar: Orhan Asena (1998)Behçet Necatigil / Edebiyatımızda İsimler Sözlüğü (18. bas. 1999), Şükran Kurdakul / Şairler ve Yazarlar Sözlüğü (gen. 6. bas. 1999), TBE Ansiklopedisi (2001), Birsen Pekçolak – Zeki Büyüktanır / Homeros’tan Günümüze Anadolu Destanları (2002), Mehmet Nuri Yardım / Yazar Olacak Çocuklar (2004), Orhan Asena (sinematurk.com, 16.02.2020).
