Poet
(b. 11 June 1923, Ankara - d. 28 January 1981, İstanbul). His real name was Halit Özdemir Arun. He attended primary school and
Galatasaray High School (1930-41), and then Kabataş High School for Boys
(1942). He began his undergraduate studies at İstanbul University, Faculty of
Law (1943-44) and in the Faculty of Economics (1945-47), but he gave up his
studies and began to work as a translator for the newspapers Tanin and Zaman.
He established the Sanat Publishing House in 1951 and the Yuvarlak Masa
Publishing House in 1955. He traveled across the United States and Europe
(1959, 1967). He died of lung cancer.
His first poems were published in the reviews Servet-i
Fünûn-Uyanış (1939-44), and his later works in Büyük Doğu, Varlık,
Yenilik, Amaç, Kaynak, Edebiyat Dünyası, Şadırvan, and in Yeditepe,
Seçilmiş Hikâyeler, Yenilik, Vatan, Dost, Türkçe, Türk Dili from 1950.
WORKS:
POETRY: Dünya Kaçtı Gözüme (The World Caught My
Eye, 1955), Sen Sen Sen (You You You,
1956), Bir Kapı Önünde (In Front of a
Door, 1957), Yumuşaklıklar Değil (Not
Softness. 1962), Nasılsın (How are
You, 1970), Çiçekleri Yemeyin (Don’t
Eat the Flowers, 1975), Yalnızlık
Paylaşılmaz (Loneliness Cannot be Shared, 1978), Benden Sonra Mutluluk (After Me Happiness, his unpublished poems
published after his death, 1983).
SHORT STORY: Dün Yağmur Yağacak (Yesterday It Will
Rain, collected after his death, 1987).
ESSAY: Yuvarlağın Köşeleri (Edges of the
Circle, proverbs, 1961; new proverbs included, 1986), Ça (Ça, essay-autocopy, 1988).
After his death, his poems
were collected in two volumes with the title Bir Kapı Önünde (In Front of a Door, 1982) by Adam Publications.
In addition, he translated works from Oscar
Wilde.
REFERENCE: Mehmet Kaplan / Cumhuriyet Devri Türk Şiiri (1973, s. 260-268), TDE Ansiklopedisi (c. 7, 1976-98), Atilla Özkırımlı / Türk Edebiyatı Ansiklopedisi (1982), Jak Deleon / Özdemir Asaf Batı’da Yeşermiş Olsaydı (Cumhuriyet, 30.8.1982), 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), Behçet Necatigil / Edebiyatımızda İsimler Sözlüğü (18. bas. 1999), Şükran Kurdakul / Şairler ve Yazarlar Sözlüğü (gen. 6. bas. 1999), Feridun Andaç / 60 Yazar (Superonline, Nisan 2000), TBE Ansiklopedisi (c. 2, 2001).
