Folklorist and poet (b. 1896, Hekimhan
/ Malatya – d. 2 January 1981, İstanbul). After completing the Sivas High
School in 1918, he worked as a teacher at the high schools of Konya, Eskişehir,
Kayseri, Sivas, Samsun, Afyon, Kütahya and the İstanbul Haydarpaşa (1943-50),
as the assistant director of the Museum of the Topkapı Palace (1950-56), and as
the president of the İstanbul Public Education Department (1956-61). He gained
fame with his studies of collecting popular Turkish fables and putting them
into script without any interference to their essence.
His anecdotes and researches were
published in the newspapers published in Konya, Kayseri and Kütahya, and in the
reviews which he published, such as İrşad (Konya), Duygu ve Düşünce
(Sivas), Duygu ve Dilek (Samsun) and Taşpınar (Afyon). The fairy
tales in his book Açıl Sofram Açıl (Open My Table, Open) was selected as
the best of the 11 works among the best works of 55 nations, by the Danish Hans
Christian Andersen Foundation, and he was awarded with the Andersen Diploma of
Merit and the Certificate of Children’s Literature (1950). He collected the
same award for the second time in 1960 with his work Dede Korkud Masaları
(The Tales of Dede Korkut).
WORKS:
POETRY: Matem Sesleri (Voices of
Mourning, 1920).
RESEARCH-STUDY: Dertli
Kaval (The Troubled Pipe, 1945), Nar Tanesi (Kernel of the
Pomegranate, 1946), Karayılan ve Karagülmez (Karayılan and Karagülmez,
1946), Halk Şiiri Antolojisi (Anthology of Folk Poetry, 1947), En
Güzel Türk Masalları (The Best Turkish Fairy Tales, 1948), Açıl Sofram
Açıl ve Congoloz Baba (Open My Table Open, and the Father Congoloz, 1949), Halk
Türküleri (Folk Songs, two volumes, 1953-56), Bir Varmış Bir Yokmuş (Once
Upon Time, 1956), Nasreddin Hoca Fıkraları (Jokes of Nasreddin Hoca,
1957), Evvel Zaman İçinde (In the Ancient Times, 1957), Dede Korkud
Masalları (The Tales of Dede Korkut, 1958), Âşık Garip (Âşık Garip,
1958), Kerem ile Aslı (Kerem and Aslı, 1959), Tahir ile Zühre (Tahir
and Zühre, 1960), Gökten Üç Elma Düştü (Three Apples Fell from Sky,
1960), Az Gittim Uz Gittim (I Went and Went, 1961), Atatürk'ün Hayatı
ve Eserleri (Life and Works of Atatürk, 1963), Folklor ve Eğitim
(Folklore and Education, 1966), Folklor ve Halk Edebiyatı (Folklore and
Folk Literature, 1971).
COLLABORATIVE WORKS (in collaboration with his son Çetin Eflatun Güney): Meslekî (Mesleki, 1953), Erzurumlu Emrah (Erzurumlu Emrah, 1955), Ruhsatî (Ruhsati, 1958), Kâmilî (Kamili, 1958).
KAYNAKÇA: Mustafa Baydar / Edebiyatçılarımız Ne Diyorlar? (1960), Osman Nebioğlu / Türkiye’de Kim Kimdir? (1963), Cumhuriyet Ansiklopedisi (c. 5, 1969, s. 1572), Ana Britannica (c. 10, 1978, s. 172), TDE Ansiklopedisi (c. 3, 1979, s. 414), Ömer Faruk Toprak / Sosyalist Kültür Ansiklopedisi (1980), Konur Ertop (Milliyet Sanat, 15.1.1981), TBE Ansiklopedisi (2001), Memet Fuat / İncelemeler (2002), Mehmet Nuri Yardım / Edebiyatımızın Güleryüzü (2002), Mustafa Özbalcı / Büyük Türk Klâsikleri (c. 13, 2002), 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).
