Writer (b. 15 August 1919, İstanbul –
d. 13 July 1986). His surname was Çaliker, but he did not use the name in his
books. He was the brother-in-law of the poet Cemal Süreya. He left Pertevniyal
High School early and worked as a civil servant at the Zongukdak Ereğli, Divrik
Coal Works (1937-46). He moved to İstanbul in 1950 where he worked at the
municipality as an inspecting officer of entertainment venues (1951-60). He
worked at the General Directorate of the Press and Information Committee until
his retirement.
His first short
story Mum (Candle), which he wrote
with inspiration from Tolstoy, was published in the review Yücel with the pen name S. Toprak (1936). His first short story to
be published with his real name Alınyazısı
(Fate) appeared in the review Yeni Adam
in 1937. Seyda, who also wrote poems, took up magazine story writing and
serializing novels because of economical problems. His novel with the title Ne Ekersen (What You Sow) came third at
the contest held by the newspaper Cumhuriyet
in 1958, which was a leap in his literary career. He was also famous for
the incredible number of awards he received such as, the Sait Faik Award in
1964 with his short story Başgöz Etme
Zamanı (Time to Get Married), the Doğan Kardeş Children’s Award in 1964
with his book Bir Gün Büyüyeceksin
(One Day You’ll Grow Up), two achievements awards at the Turkish Radio and
Television Corporation Art Awards in 1970 with his novel Yanartaş (Burning Stone) and his short story Şehzadenin Başıdır (The Head of the Prince), the May Literature
Award in 1968 with his novel İhtiyar
Gençlik (Old Youth) and the Turkish Language Association Novel Award in
1974 with İçe Dönük ve Atak (Introverted and Rash).
WORKS:
SHORT STORY: Zonguldak Hikâyeleri (Stories from Zonguldak, 1962), Beyaz Duvar (White Wall, 1962), Başgöz Etme Zamanı (Time to Marry,
1963), Oyuncakçı Dükkânı (Toy Shop,
1964), Garnizonda Bir Olay (An Event
at the Garrison, 1968), Anahtarcı Salih (Salih
the Locksmith, 1969), Kör Şeytan (Blind
Devil, 1974), Bana Karşı Ben (Me
Against Me, 1976), Kapatma (Kidnapped
Girl, 1980).
NOVEL: Yaş Ağaç (Young Tree, 1958), Ne
Ekersen (What You Sow, 1958), Cinsel
Oyun (Sexual Game, 1960), Bir Gün
Büyüyeceksin (One Day You’ll Grow Up, 1966), Sultan Döşeği (Bed of the Sultan, 1969), Köroğlu (Köroğlu, 1969), Nemrut
Mustafa (Cruel Mustafa, 1970), Süeda
Hanımın Ortanca Kızı (The Second Daughter of Süeda Hanım, 1970), Yanartaş (Burning Stone, 1970), İhtiyar Gençlik (Old Youth, 1971), İçe Dönük ve Atak (Introverted and Rash,
1973), Gerçek Dışı (Super-real,
1976), Mavi Siyah Aşk (Black and Blue
Love, 1989).
OTHER WORKS: Bir Açıdan (In One Aspect, essays, 1969), Türk Romanı (Turkish Novel, reports from a forum on the novel Devlet Ana - Mother State by Kemal
Tahir, 1969), Edebiyat Dostları (Friends
of Literature, interviews with 29 writers, 1970), Çocukluk Yılları (Childhood Years, memories, 1979).
In addition, he wrote a
number of children’s books.
