Abdullah Şanal

Poet (b. 1947, Yeşildağ village / Beyşehir). He attended Yeşildağ Primary School (1957), Beyşehir High School (1964) and graduated from İstanbul University, Faculty of Literature, Department of Turkish Language and Literature and Advanced Teacher Training School (1968). He worked as a teacher of literature at high schools in İstanbul, Rize, Artvin and Antalya (1968-94); as a proofreader and writer for the newspaper Akdeniz Atılım (1995-97) and as a bookseller and exhibition manager. He retired as a teacher in 1994.

His first poem, Ruhi Su'yu Dinlerken (When Listening to Ruhi Su), was published in the review Evrim (August, 1975). He gained fame with his poems and essays published in many reviews such as Evrim, Türkiye Yazıları, Varlık, Karşı Edebiyat, Temmuz, İmece, İnsancıl, Yapıt, Yeni Biçem, Çağdaş Türk Dili, Ardıçkuşu, Edebiyat 81, Olgu, Eşik, Mavi Portakal, Kıyı, Yeni Olgu and Dönemeç. He published the reviews Kırkmerdiven, Atatürkçü Düşünce and ANSAN Sanat. He collected the İbrahim Yıldız Poetry Award in 1998 with Uçurum Kokan Okyanus (The Ocean that Smells like a Cliff) and the Antalya Golden Orange Foundation’s Contribution to Antalya Award in the same year. His book with the title Bir Hüznün Sancısı (An Ache of Grief) was banned and examined by the authorities but later the ban was lifted. He is a member of the Ataturkist Thought Association, the Writers Syndicate of Turkey, the Turkish Authors Association and the Republican People’s Party.

According to Şükran Kurdakul, “In Şanal’s work, with his understanding of people and their reality, a furious sincerity prevails.

WORKS:

POETRY: Yorgun Sevi Çıkmazı (Dead-End of Tired Love, 1973), Bir Hüznün Sancısı (An Ache of Grief, 1980), Sorum Var Rüzgârlara (I Have A Question to the Winds, 1984), Adın Türkülerimde (Your Name is in My Songs, 1989), Uçurum Kokan Okyanus (The Ocean that Smells like a Cliff, 1997), Milenyum Şarkıları (Millennium Songs, 2004), Aşkın Yedi Rengi (Seven Colors of Love, 2005).

ESSAY: Yaşasın Edebiyat (Long Live Literature, 1997), Afrika'ya Yolculuk (A Journey to Africa, 1997).

REFERENCE: Ruşen Hakkı (Kocaeli, 11.6.1980), Oktay Akbal (Cumhuriyet, 26.6.1983), Kemal Sülker (Gösteri, Haziran 1985), M. Yaşar Bilen (Önsöz, 24.2.1987), Ruşen Hakkı (Kocaeli, 18.2.1985 ve 30.6.1989), İbrahim Dizman (Kıyı, Şubat 1990 ve Haziran 1988), ETV (Sanat İnsan İçindir, 20 Ekim 1994), Şükran Kurdakul / Şairler ve Yazarlar Sözlüğü (gen. 6. bas. 1999), Sinemagazin (7,8,9,10,11 sayılar/ Ekim 99- Ocak 2000), Tanzimat’tan Günümüze Edebiyatçılar Ansiklopedisi (2001), Hasan Akarsu (Ardıçkuşu, Şubat 2001), İhsan Işık (Türkiye Yazarlar Ansiklopedisi, 2001), Yasemin Göksoy / Bir Portre (Sabah - Akdeniz, 4.12.2004), TRT (Bu Toprağın Sesi, 1 Mayıs 2005), VTV (Geçmiş Zaman Olur Ki, 25 Mayıs 2008), Damar (Aralık 2005, Sayı:177), TRT (Yayın Dünyası, 6 Kasım 2012), İhsan Işık / Resimli ve Metin Örnekli Türkiye Edebiyatçılar ve Kültür Adamları Ansiklopedisi (2. bas., 2009).