Adile Ayda

Writer (B. February 22, 1912, St. Petersburg / Russia- D. 5 October 1992, Ankara).  She is the daughter of Sadri Maksudi Arsal (1880-57), writer and lawyer. She studied her primary education in Berlin and Paris, and then she completed her education in Notre Dame de Sion French High School in İstanbul. In 1932, she was graduated from Ankara University Faculty of Law, later she was graduated from AU Faculty of Language History and Geography, Department of French Philology. After she completed Law School, she became successful in the Foreign Ministry entrance exam and became the first female diplomat in Republic period. But, after two years because of the judgements and provisions that banned females to be assigned for foreign duties, she resigned from her duty in Foreign Ministry and worked as the teacher in Conservatory and Ankara Girls High School.

In 1941, she became the French Literature assistant at the Faculty of Language History and Geography, she became associate professor in 1943. She worked as the lecturer in Ankara and Istanbul Universities for a long time. By the end of 1957, she resigned from university returned to Foreign Affairs Ministry; she worked in Hague, Belgrade and Rome embassies. In 1966, she directed Foreign Ministry Cultural Affairs. During this period, she was granted merit award by Italian Republic. She was elected as a quota senator in 1976.  

She learned French during her childhood years so it was like her native language, she wrote poems in French during her pupilage. Her literature critics and memories were published in Cumhuriyet newspaper (1946-56) and Hisar journal (1975-80), her scientific articles about prehistory and ancient history, were published in Belleten journal of Turkish History Association. She has a published work about Mallarmé in French and some other works about Etruscans. Writer was close to literature and art communities, her father had friends from science and literature circles, she was known by the conversations about literature and art in her house, her works are valuable for the history of literature.

“She wrote documental articles with a sensitive, grace and elegancy of a lady, about the famous novelists, poets and script writers of Turkish literature. She used the memories and wrote them from her objective. For her…culture can be constructed on legacy of past. Our old poems, old music and old point of view make us who we are. We must be proud of them. Let the Western societies not understand and embrace us. The main reason holds us behind is trying to imitate the Western societies since the Reforms.” (Şener Öztop)

WORKS:

RESEARCH: Yahya Kemal’in Fikir ve Şiir Dünyası (1979).

MEMOIR: Böyle İdiler Yaşarken (1984), Atsız’dan Adile Ayda’ya Mektuplar (1989)  Bir Demet Edebiyat (1998).

BIOGRAPHY: Sadri Maksudi Arsal (1991).

REFERENCE: Hisar’dan Biyografiler (Hisar dergisi, Eylül 1976), Âdile Ayda / Batı’yı Taklit Etmemeliyiz (Hisar, Ocak-Şubat 1979), Âdile Ayda / Yahya Kemal’in Fikir ve Şiir Dünyası  (1979), Sermet Sami Uysal / Yeni Yahya Kemal (Varlık, Şubat 1980), Atsız’dan Adile Ayda’ya Mektuplar (1989), 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), Halil İnalcık / Adile Abla (1998), Şener Öztop / Bir Demet Edebiyat (Cumhuriyet Kitap, 25.11.1999), TBE Ansiklopedisi (c. 1,  2003), Gönül Pultar / Batı Avrupa Kültürü ile Türk-Tatar Kültürünün Sentezi: Adile Ayda (2005), TBMM Albümü 4. Cilt 1960-1983 (2010).