Novelist, storywriter and
playwright (b. 25 November 1889, İstanbul – d. 7 December 1956, London). His
father was a major in the army. He attended primary school in Çanakkale, the
Çanakkale Secondary School and the İzmir School of Freres. He graduated
İstanbul University, Faculty of Literature (1912). He worked as a teacher and
administrator at high schools in Bursa and İstanbul, then as an inspector at
the Ministry of National Education (1931). He became the deputy of Çanakkale
(1933-43), the chief inspector at the Ministry of National Education (1947),
and a cultural attaché to Paris (1950), when he was also the Turkish
representative to UNESCO. After his retirement, he served at the literary board
of the İstanbul Municipal Theatres. He died in London, where he had gone to be
treated for his cancer. He is buried at the Karacaahmet Graveyard.
The first short stories, play
criticisms and researches of Reşat Nuri, who embarked on literature with his
long story Eski Ahbap (The Old Friend) published in the review Diken
(1917), appeared in the newspaper Zaman (1918) and in the reviews Nedim
(1919), Büyük Mecmua (1919) and İnci. He was recognized with
his novel Çalıkuşu (The Wren) which was serialized in the newspaper Vakit
(1922). It was his most popular work, later associated with his name. He also used the pen names Hayrettin Rüştü and
Mehmet Ferid in some of his early works. He wrote his articles in humor reviews
with the pen names Yıldız Böceği and Ağustos Böceği. His first novel Harabelerin
Çiçeği (Flower among the Ruins) was published in the newspaper Zaman
with the pen name Cemil Nimet (1918). Reşat Nuri Güntekin, who wrote about 100
works of novel, short story, play, travel-notes and essay, took his place among
the most productive writers of the Republican era. He narrated the realities of
the Anatolian people with various characters and problems, by making use of his
impressions in the Anatolian cities and towns, which he visited on his travels.
WORKS:
NOVEL: Gizli El (The
Secret Hand, serialized in the newspaper Dersaadet
in 1920; published as a book, 1922), Çalıkuşu (The Wren, 1922), Damga
(The Seal, 1924) Dudaktan Kalbe (From Lips to Heart, 1925), Akşam
Güneşi (Evening Sun, 1926), Bir Kadın Düşmanı (An Enemy of Women,
1927), Yeşil Gece (The Green Night, 1928), Acımak (Mercy, 1928), Yaprak
Dökümü (The Fall of Leaves, 1930), Kızılcık Dalları (Branches of
Cornelian Cherry, 1932), Gökyüzü (The Sky, 1935), Eski Hastalık
(Old Illness, 1938), Ateş Gecesi (The Night of Fire, 1942), Değirmen
(The Mill, 1944), Miskinler Tekkesi (The Lodge of the Indolent, 1946), Harabelerin
Çiçeği (Flower among the Ruins,
1953), Kan Davası (The Blood Feud, 1960), Kavak Yelleri (Winds of
Poplar, 1961), Son Sığınak (The Last Shelter, 1961), Boyunduruk (The
Yoke, long story, together with Harabelerin
Çiçeği-Flower among the Ruins and Eski
Ahbap-Old Friend, 1968).
SHORT STORY: Eski Ahbap
(Old Friend, 1917), Sönmüş Yıldızlar (The Faded Stars, 1927), Roçild
Bey (Mr. Rochild, 1919), Tanrı Misafiri (Guest from the God, 1927), Gençlik
ve Güzellik (Youth and Beauty, 1919), Leyla ile Mecnun (Leyla and
Mecnun, 1928), Olağan İşler (Ordinary Affairs, 1930).
TRAVEL LITERATURE: Anadolu
Notları (Notes of Anatolia, two volumes, 1922).
PLAY: Hançer (The Dagger,
1920), Eski Rüya (The Old Dream, 1922), Ümidin Güneşi (Sun of
Hope, 1924), Gazeteci Düşmanı Şemsiye Hırsızı İhtiyar Serseri (Enemy of
Journalist Thief of Umbrella the Old Ne’er-do-well, 1925), Taş Parçası
(Piece of Stone, 1926), Bir Köy Hocası (A Teacher at Village, 1928), Babür
Şah'ın Seccadesi (Babür Şah's Cloth for Pray, 1931), Bir Kır Eğlencesi
(Amusement in the Countryside, 1931), Ümit Mektebinde (At the School of
Hope, 1931), Felaket Karşısında, Gözdağı, Eski Borç (Before Catastrophe,
the Intimidation, 1931), İstiklal (Freedom, 1933), Vergi Hırsızı
(Tax Evader, 1933), Hülleci (The Temporary Wife, 1935), Bir Yağmur
Gecesi (A Night of Rain, 1943), Balıkesir Muhasebecisi (The
Accountant of Balıkesir, 1971), Tanrı Dağı Ziyareti (The Visit to the
Tannu-ola Mountain, 1971).
Besides, he adapted the novels Yaprak
Dökümü (The Fall of Leaves), Eski Hastalık (The Old Illness, with
the name Eski Şarkı-The Old Song)
into a play, as Necati Cumalı did with Çalıkuşu (The Wren), and Turgut
Özakman with Değirmen (The Mill, with the name Sarıpınar-Sarıpınar, 1914).
LANGUAGE and LITERATURE: Reşat Nuri Güntekin'in Tiyatro ile İlgili Makaleleri (Essays of Reşat Nuri Güntekin on Theatre, edited by Kemal Yavuz, 1976).
