Poet
and writer (d. 1867, İstanbul - d. 26 Ocak 1912). He had no formal education
but managed to educate himself. He didn’t stay for long as a clerk at the Gendarme Department and
examining official, jobs to which he was
appointed during his father’s service as a minister. He retired because of his
fondness for drinking. Ahmet Cemal, who divorced all his five wives, was
hospitalized and treated for abnormal behavior a few times. He is buried in
Yenikapı Cemetery.
He was a productive writer in terms
of poetry, short story and novel despite his irregular life. He is known as the
“Poet of the Island” because of his poems narrating love in Büyükada, an island off İstanbul. In his short stories and novels that
had a romantic style of narration, he used a plain and simple language, almost
colloquial. In terms of his appreciation of poetry, he opposed the supporters
of the
“Scientific Wealth Movement” and adopted Muallim Naci’s approach,
who was in favor of traditional poetry.
WORKS:
POETRY:
Adada Söylediklerim (What I Said on
the Island, 1886), Gazellerim (My
Lyric Poems, 1894), Zade-i Şair (Son of the Poet,
1895), Âsâr-ı Celal (The Works of
Celal, 1896), Sürud (Song, 1896).
SHORT
STORY - NOVEL: Orora (Aurora, 1886), Cemile (Cemile, 1886), Venüs (Venus, 1886), Dehşet Yahud Üç Mezar
(Horror or Three Graves, 1886), Dâmenalûde
(Unchaste, 1887), Bir Kadının Hayatı
(The Life of a Woman, 1890, new edition 2001), Margarit (Margaret, 1890), Vicdan
Azapları (Remorse, 1890),
Küçük Gelin (The Little Bride, 1892),
Mükâfat (The Reward, 1894), Zehra (Zehra, 1895), Müzeyyen (1898), İskambil (Playing Cards,
1899), Piyango (Lottery, 1900), İsmete Taarruz (The Assault on İsmet,
1900), Kuşdilinde (In
Bird Language, 1910), Leman (Leman, 1910).
REVIEW: Elvah-ı
Masumâne ve Makalât-ı Edebiyye (Portraits of the Innocents and
Articles about Literature, 1895).
