Folklorist (b. 2 September 1907, Darıdere / Komotini / Greece – d. 16
March 1998, İstanbul). He attended the Mudurnu (Bolu) Primary School, the
French College of Kumkapı (1924), the İstanbul High School for Boys (1927), and
graduated from İstanbul University, Faculty of Literature, Department of
Turkish Language and Literature (1930). He worked as an assistant at the
Institute of Turkey, and as a teacher of literature at the Konya High School
and Teacher Training School (1932 –36). He was sent to Germany on a state
scholarship, and he became a library staff at the Faculty of Public
Administration. Later on, he became an associate professor at the Ankara
University, Faculty of Language, History and Geography (1938) and was promoted
to professorship in 1946. After he was dismissed from the university in 1948,
he moved to the United States and worked at Stanford University. He continued
his studies in France after 1952.
He collected fairy tales and folk stories on his travels to various regions of Anatolia when he was in Turkey. His studies and essays were published in the reviews Yurt ve Dünya (1941 – 44, 42 issues) and İnsan, which he published in collaboration with Behice Boran, and in some other newpapers. He shared the Sedat Simavi Literature Award with Haldun Taner in 1983, with his book Folklor ve Edebiyat (Folklore and Literature).
WORKS:
Köroğlu Destanı (The Epic of Köroğlu, 1931), Folklor ve Edebiyat (Folklore and Literature, 1939; expanded edition in two volumes, 1982-83), Bey Börek Hikâyesine Ait Metinler (The Texts about the Story of Bey Börek, 1939), Halk Edebiyatı Dersleri I (The Courses of Folk Literature I, 1942), İzahlı Halk Şiiri Antolojisi (The Anthology of Folk Poetry with Explanations, in collaboration with H. V. Fıratlı, 1943), Folklor ve Edebiyat II (Folklore and Literature II, 1945; expanded edition 1983), Pir Sultan Abdal (in collaboration with A. Gölpınarlı, 1943), Halk Hikâyeleri ve Halk Hikâyeciliği (The Folk Stories and Folk Story Writing, 1946; new edition 1988), Typen Türkisher Volksmarchen (in collaboration with W. Eberhard, Germany, 1953), Contes Turcs (France, 1955), Zaman Zaman İçinde (Time Within Time, repartees and fairy tales, 1958), Az Gittik Uz Gittik (We Travelled Over Hill and Dale, essays and fairy tales, 1969), 100 Soruda Halk Edebiyatı (The Folk Literature in 100 Questions, 1973), 100 Soruda Türk Folkloru (The Turkish Folklore in 100 Questions, 1973), Nasrettin Hoca (Nasreddin Hoca, in French, in collaboration with İlhan Başgöz, 2003).
REFERENCE: Tahir Alangu / Boratav’ın Kitapları (Yeni Dergi, sayı: 23, Ağustos 1966), 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 Bilim Adamları (Türkiye Ünlüleri Ansiklopedisi, C. 2, 2013) - Encyclopedia of Turkey’s Famous People (2013), Metin Turan / Pertev Naili Boratav’a Armağan (1998), Mehmet Türker Acaroğlu / Prof. Dr. Pertev Naili Boratav Kaynakçası (“Pertev Naili Boratav’a Armağan’’dan ayrı basım, 1998), Niyazi Hüseyin Bahtiyar / Balkanlar’da Türk Ünlüleri (s. 97-99, 1999), Birsen Pekçolak - Zeki Büyüktanır / Homeros’tan Günümüze Anadolu Destanları (2002), Remzi Demir - Doğan Atılgan / DTCF ve Türkiye’de Beşerî Bilimlerin Yeniden İnşası: Elli Portre (2008).60
