Poet and writer (b. 12 February 1934, Karakuz village / Koşukavak
/ Kırcaali / Bulgaria – d. Ö. 2006, İstanbul). He also used the pen name Ömer
Osmanov. After attending primary school in his hometown, he enrolled in the
Kırcaali Turkish School of Pedagogy. He worked as a teacher in the towns and
villages of the region where he was born and worked for the Kırcaali local newspaper.
In the late 1970’s, he was tried for his novel Garip Milyon (Strange Million,
not published) and was sentenced to five years in prison. After the law of
shifting Turkish names to Bulgarian ones, he was sent to Belene Death Camp in
1985 and then was sent to exile with his family to the city of Roman in
Northeast Bulgaria, where only Bulgarian lived. He was deported during the
great migration in 1989 and settled in İstanbul. His teacher’s license in
Bulgaria was approved by the state and worked as a teacher at various schools
after 1955, as well as a journalist and worker.
He took up literature by writing poems in 1952. Later on, he
shifted to story writing and attracted attention with his works of this genre.
He was, however, criticized for “being extraordinarily successful as a poet in benefiting from
the form and patterns of Turkish poetry, but flooding his poetry with rage,
cynicism and aggression." His poems and articles were published in the reviews Tuna, Esinti,
Tuna, Balkan Türklerinin Sesi, Balkanlarda Türk Kültürü and Yesevi.
He ranked first at numerous competitions with his poems.
WORKS:
SHORT STORY: Yaralı Güvercin (Wounded Pigeon, 1965), Bırak Kocamı (Leave My Husband, long story, 1967), Son Gece (The Last
Night, 2001).
POETRY: S.O.S. veya Üçüncü Mezar (S.O.S or the
Third Grave, 1989), Ölmeden Ölmek (Dying Before Dying, 1991), Sabır Duası (Prayer for
Patience, 1992), Dilim Dilim Yürek (Heart in Pieces, 1994), Buram Buram Yalnızlık (Intense Solitude,
1997), İzmir Sokakları (Streets of İzmir, 1998), Bir Başkadır
Bizim Eller (Nothing’s Like My Country, 1998), Istıraphaneden
Mektuplar (Letters from the House of Pain, letters, 1999).
NOVEL: Buruk Acı (Sour Pain, 1995), Uçurum (Cliff, 1996), Ağlatırsa Mevla’m Yine Güldürür (If God
Makes Me Cry, He Will Make Me Laugh Again, 2002), İçimizdeki İnci
Taneciği (The Little Pearl inside Us, 2004).
MEMOIR-IMPRESSION: Bir Başkadır Bizim Eller (Nothing’s like My
Country, 2000).
CHILDREN’S LITERATURE: Ağlatmayın Çocukları (Don’t Make the
Children Cry, children’s poems, 1998), Taşlaşan Çocuk (The Kid Who Turned into Stone, 1999).
