Short story
and novel writer (b. 13 February 1916, Burunköy (Kocagözoğlu) / Söke / Aydın –
d. 5 September 1993, İzmir). He attended primary school in Söke (1928) and
graduated from İzmir High School for Boys and İstanbul University, Faculty of
Literature, Department of Turkish Language and Literature (1942). He studied
Art History at Lausanne University (1942-45). He worked as a farmer in Söke for
a while. He joined the Workers Party of Turkey (1963) and worked on the
committees of administration but left the party when the separation into
factions began.
His first short story was published in the review Yücel
(1935). From 1935 his stories were published in reviews and newspapers such as Servet-i
Fünûn, Ses, Vatan, Demokrat İzmir, Yenilikler, Yeditepe and after 1950 in Ataç,
Yön, Türk Dili, Varlık, Yeni Ufuklar, etc. He collected the Championship
Award with his short story “Uncle Sam” in the World Story Competition held by
the New York Herald Tribune Newspaper and Yeni İstanbul Newspaper (1950).
In 1967 he won the Turkish Language Institution Short Story Award with his book
titled Yağmurdaki Kız (The Girl in the Rain), in 1979 the Mecidiyeköy
Lions Short Story Award with his work Alandaki Delikanlı (The Young Man
in the Field), the Ferid Oğuz Bayır Art Award (1987) with his novel Mor
Ötesi (Ultra Violet, 1986) and finally the 1989 Orhan Kemal Novel Award
with his work Eski Toprak (Healthy and Strong Despite Being Old). Some
of his novels were translated into German, French, Russian and Bulgarian.
WORKS:
SHORT STORY: Telli Kavak (Stringed Poplar,
1943), Sığınak (Shelter, 1946), Sam Amca (Uncle Sam,
1951), Cihan Şoförü (Driver of the World, 1954), Ahmet’in Kuzuları
(The Lambs of Ahmet, 1958), Yolun Üstündeki Kaya (The Cliff on the Road,
1964), Yağmurdaki Kız (Girl in the Rain, 1967), Alandaki
Delikanlı (The Young Man in the Field, 1978), Gecenin Soluğu
(Breath of the Night, 1985), Zor Kanat (Difficult Wing, 1985), Simon
Pépéta’ya (To Simon Pépéta, 1986), Baskın (Raid, 1990), Bütün
Öyküleri (All His Short Stories, 1991).
NOVEL: İkinci Dünya (Second World, 1938), Bir
Şehrin İki Kapısı (Two Doors of a City, 1948, with the title Nabi’s Park
Café, 1985), Yılın Hikâyesi (The Long-Winded Story, 1954), Onbinlerin
Dönüşü (The Return of the Ten Thousand, 1957), Kalpaklılar (Those
Wearing Fur Caps, 1962), Dolu Dizgin (At Full-Speed, 1963), Bir Karış
Toprak (A Hand-Span of Land, 1964), Bir Çift Öküz (A Pair of Oxen,
1970), İzmir’in İçinde (Inside İzmir , 1973), Tartışma (Argument,
1976), Mor Ötesi (Beyond Purple, 1986), Eski Toprak (Healthy and
Strong Despite Being Old, 1988).
CRITICISM: Roman ve Yazarlık Onuru (The Honor
of the Novel and Being a Writer, 1988).
MEMOIR: Nasreddin Hoca (Nasreddin
Hoca, 1981).
