Storywriter (b. 25 November 1906, Adapazarı – d. 11 May
1954, İstanbul). He attended primary school at the Rehberi Terraki School in
his hometown. Later, he attended the İstanbul High School for Boys for a while
and completed his high school education in Bursa High School (1928). He studied
at İstanbul University, Faculty of Literature (1928-30) and at Grenoble
(France). After he turned back to İstanbul in 1935, he worked as a lecturer at
the Armenian Orphan School for a short time. Although he engaged himself in
grain trade for a while and worked as a journalist for a month (he was the
courthouse correspondent of the newspaper Haber); thanks to the financial
support of his father, he lived in their family residence in Burgaz Island in
summers and in their house in Şişli in winters, together with his mother (this
residence became the “Sait Faik Museum” in 1964). The family’s surname was
originally Abasızoğulları. After the law of family was affected, they took
Abasıyanık as their surname. Sait Faik also used the pen names Adalı, Sait Faik
Adalı and S. F. Due to excess consumption of alcohol, insomnia and his bohemian
life style, his health had deteriorated ever since 1935. In 1948, he was
diagnosed with cirrhosis. Before he died, he was elected as an honorary member
of Mark Twain Association in the United States (1953). After his death, a short
story award (Sait Faik Short Story Award) has been organized in his name since
1955. Sait Faik never got married.
Embarking on literature by writing poems and short
stories at high school, Sait Faik tried writing novels, as well; however, he
was recognized with his story-writing and attained a deserved fame in this
field. He became one of the masters of Turkish story writing.
His first short story Uçurtmalar (Kites) was published in the
newspaper Milliyet. His
other short stories and articles appeared in reviews such as Varlık (1934-54), Ağaç (1936), Servet-i Fünûn, Uyanış,
Ses, Yeni Ses (1939-40), İşte (1944), Yürüyüş (1943-44), Gün (1946), Yaprak (1949-50) and Yenilik (1952-54). Sait Faik, who narrated
his childhood memories on the Marmara Islands and his observations in Bursa,
Adapazarı and France in his works, from time to time, tried a surrealist
narration in his short stories, where he chose his characters among the
residents of Bursa, Greek fishermen, children and the poor people of the
outskirts of towns. He usually adopted realism in his works and drew attention
with his success in prioritizing the love of human being and nature in his
stories. The case is a background in his short stories, and some of them even
lack a specific event. He uses the language skillfully. Sometimes, he used an
inattentive style in accordance with the rhythm of his life. He loved human
masses crowding his stories, which brought warmness is his short stories. He
said “Everything starts with loving a person”.
WORKS:
POETRY: Şimdi Sevişmek Vakti (Now It is Time to Make Love, 1953).
NOVEL: Medar-ı Maişet Motoru (An Engine for the Sign of Livelihood, 1944, With the title Bir Takım İnsanlar –Some People, 1952), Kayıp
Aranıyor (Lost Wanted, 1953).
SHORT STORY: Semaver (Semovar, 1936), Sarnıç (Cistern, 1939), Şahmerdan (Punch Press, 1940), Lüzumsuz Adam (Unnecessary Man, 1948), Mahalle
Kahvesi (The Café of the Neighborhood, 1950), Havada Bulut (The Cloud in the Sky, 1951),
Kumpanya (Theatretical Company, 1951), Havuz Başı (The Side of Pool, 1952), Son
Kuşlar (The Last Birds, 1952), Alemdağda Var Bir Yılan (There is a Snake in Alemdağ, 1954),
Az Şekerli (Slightly Added with Sugar, 1954), Tüneldeki Çocuk (The Child in the Tunnel, 1955),
INTERVIEW: Mahkeme Kapısı (The Gate of Court, 1956).
Later, the works of the author were collected by Bilgi
Publishing House in 12 volumes under the title of “Bütün Eserleri” (Collected
Works, 1970-82).
REFERENCE:
Tahir Alangu / Sait Faik İçin (derleme, 1956), Tahsin Yücel / Havada Bulut
(Varlık, Temmuz 1951)-Sait Faik (Varlık, Aralık 1954)-Gene Sait Faik (Varlık,
Ocak 1956)-Büyükler (Varlık, Haziran 1956), Yaşar Nabi/ Varlık (S: 418, 1951;
Sayı 430, 1956), İnci (29 Aralık 1952), Behçet Necatigil / Sait Faik’in
Kahramanlarında Kılık ve Ruh (Varlık, Aralık 1954), Nurullah Ataç/ Türk Dili
Dergisi (Haziran 1954), Muzaffer Uyguner / Sait Faik'in Hayatı (1959, Sait Faik
Abasıyanık adıyla,1964), Sami N. Özerdim / Sait Faik Bibliyografyasına Ek
(Varlık, Mayıs 1966), Mustafa Kutlu / Sait Faik'in Hikâye Dünyası (1968), Adnan
Binyazar/ Türk Dili (Eylül 1970), Sait Faik’le Toplum Sorunları Konusunda Bir
Konuşma (Halkın Dostları, Haziran 1970), Derleyen: Sennur Sezer/ Soruşturma
(Cumhuriyet Sanat, Edebiyat eki, Mayıs 1970), Düzenleyen: Mahmut Alptekin/
Soruşturma (Varlık, Ağustos 1973-Mayıs 1974-Temmuz 1974), Mehmet Kaplan /
Cumhuriyet Devri Türk Şiiri (1973, s. 121-129), Mahmut Alptekin / Sait Faik
(1974), Muzaffer Uyguner/ Varlık (Sayı: 801, 1974), Mahmut Alptekin / Bir Öykü
Ustası Sait Faik Abasıyanık (1976), Fethi Naci / Bir Hikâyeci: Sait Faik - Bir
Romancı: Yaşar Kemal (1990), İhsan Işık / Yazarlar Sözlüğü (1990, 1998) -
Türkiye Yazarlar Ansiklopedisi (2001, 2004) – Resimli ve Metin Örnekli Türkiye
Edebiyatçılar ve Kültür Adamları Ansiklopedisi (2007, 2009) - Ünlü Edebiyatçılar (Türkiye Ünlüleri
Ansiklopedisi, C. 4, 2013) - Encyclopedia of Turkey’s Fomous People (2013),
Ahmet Miskioğlu / Sait Faik -Yaşamı, Kişiliği, Sanatı, Yapıtları
(değerlendirmeler, şiirler, 1992), Ömer Lekesiz / Yeni Türk Edebiyatında Öykü -
1 (1997), Perihan Ergun / Sait Faik 90 Yaşında (1996), Fethi Naci / Sait
Faik’in Hikâyeciliği (1998), "Mahalle Kahvesi" Öyküsünde Tragedya
Yapısı ve Özellikleri (Türk Dili Dergisi, Ocak-Şubat 2000), Feridun Andaç /
Edebiyatımızın Yol Haritası (2000), Radikal Kitap (29.9.2002), Sadun Tanju /
Eski Dostlar (Ara Güler'in fotoğraflarıyla, 2002), Renk Renk Kartpostallar:
Sait Faik (Hece-Türk Oykücülüğü Özel Sayısı, sayı: 46-47), Mehmet Nuri Yardım /
Edebiyatımızın Güleryüzü (2002), Şinasi Gülaçtı / Güler Yüzlü Yazılar III
(Bizim Külliye, Ekim 2002), Semih Gümüş / Öykülerde İstanbul (2002), Orhan Okay
/ Büyük Türk Klâsikleri 14 (2002),Bir Usta Bir Dünya Sait Faik Abasıyanık
(2003'teki bir sergiden fotoğraflar, mektuplar, belgeler, 2003), Kemal Atakay /
Sait Faik’in Öykülerinde Deniz (Kitap-lık, Mart 2004), Mustafa Şerif Onaran /
Sait Faik Öykülerinin İmgelem Gücündeki Gerçek (Varlık, Mayıs 2004).
