Novelist
(b. 1910, İstanbul - d. 21 April 1973). His full name was Kemal Tahir Demir. He
was the son of Tahir Bey who was aide-de-camp to Sultan Abdülhamid II. He
graduated from Kasımpaşa Cezayirli Hasanpaşa Secondary School (1923). He left
Galatasaray High School when he was in the tenth class and worked as an
assistant lawyer (1928-32). He worked for the newspapers, Vakit, Haber, Son
Posta, Karagöz and for the reviews Yedigün and Karikatür as
editor, page coordinator, interview writer and translator (1932-38). He was
arrested with Nazım Hikmet on the charge of provoking a military riot and was
tried at the Naval Court. He was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment and stayed
in Çankırı, Çorum, Kırşehir, Malatya Prisons for 12 years (1938-1950). After being
discharged from prison following the 1950 elections, he made a living by
translating novels often using pen names. It is said that he himself wrote some
of the Mayk Hammer series of detective novels that he translated. He
established the Düşün Publishing House with Aziz Nesin (1957-60). He spent his
last years writing and publishing novels. He is buried in Erenköy Sahrayı Cedit
Graveyard.
He entered the world of
literature with his poems and short stories published in the reviews, İçtihad
(1931), Yeni Kültür, Geçit (1932-34) and Yedigün (1935). He is
known mostly for his novels published after
WORKS:
NOVEL: Sağırdere (Deaf
Stream, 1955), Esir Şehrin İnsanları (People of the Captive City, 1956),
Körduman (Blind Smoke, 1957), Rahmet Yolları Kesti (Mercy Blocked
the Ways, 1957), Yediçınar Yaylası (Seven Plane Tree Plateau, 1958), Köyün
Kamburu (Hunchback of the Village, 1959), Esir Şehrin Mahpusları
(Prisoners of the Captive City, 1962), Kelleci Memet (Memet the
Executioner, 1962), Yorgun Savaşçı (Tired Warrior, 1965), Bozkırdaki
Çekirdek (Seed on the Steppe, 1967), Devlet Ana (Mother State,
1967), Kurt Kanunu (Law of the Wolf, 1969), Büyük Mal (Large
Property, 1970), Yol Ayrımı (Divergence on the Way, 1971), Namusçular
(Defenders of Honor, 1974), Karılar Koğuşu (Dormitory of Women, 1974), Hür
Şehrin İnsanları (People of the Independent City, 2. Volume, 1977).
SHORT STORY: Göl İnsanları
(People of the Lake, 1955).
The book titled Kemal Tahir’den Fatma İrfan’a (From Kemal Tahir to Fatma İrfan, 1979) including his letters to his first wife and the book titled Kemal Tahir’in Sohbetleri (The Conversations of Kemal Tahir, 1980) were collected by İsmet Bozdağ and published after his death. New editions of his works were made. His work, Notlar (Notes, prepared by Cengiz Yazoğlu and collected in 13 volumes: Notlar / Kitap Notları (Notes / Book Notes), Notlar / Mektuplar (Notes/Letters), Notlar / Roman Notları-2- Batı Çıkmazı (Notes / Novel Notes-2- West Dead-End), Notlar / Roman Notları-3-Patriyot Ömer (Novel Notes-3-Patriot Ömer), Gülen Azap Çıkmazı (Dead End of the Smiling Pain), Notlar / Sanat-Edebiyat-4 (Notes/Art-Literature-4), Notlar / Sanat-Edebiyat-1 (Notes / Art-Literature-1), Notlar / Sanat-Edebiyat-3 (Notes / Art-Literature-3), Notlar / 1950 Öncesi / Cezaevi Notları (Notes / Before 1950 / Prison Notes), Notlar / 1950 Öncesi Şiirler ve Ziya İlhan’a Mektuplar (Notes / Poems Before 1950 and Letters to Ziya İlhan), Notlar / Çöküntü (Notes / Depression), Notlar / Osmanlılık / Bizans (Notes / Ottomans / Byzantines), Notlar / Roman Notları-1 (Notes / Novel Notes-1), Topal Kasırga (Crippled Whirlwind), Darmadağın Olan Devlet (State in Disorder), Notlar / Sosyalizm - Toplum ve Gerçek (Notes / Socialism - Society and Reality, 1989-92).
