Poet and writer (b. 1933, Ankara - d. 3 March 2016, İstanbul). His
real surname is Börtecene. He attended Ankara Mimar Kemal Primary School and
Dördüncü Secondary School. He left the Ankara Atatürk and Bursa High Schools
for Boys (1951) and became a civil servant at the General Directorate of
Statistics, however, left his job after working there for two years. He took up
journalism in the newspaper Yeni İstanbul
in 1961. After working for
this newspaper for two years and also in the newspapers Ankara Ekspres (1963) and Vatan
(1964) he entered the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation in 1965. Until
1974 he worked as a redactor and news editor in the corporation’s News Service
Department. Between the years 1974-76 he worked at the News Department of
İstanbul Radio and then joined the Ak
Agency. In 1977, he worked for the Dünya newspaper for a while, but then
he returned to his duty at İstanbul Radio. From 1978 to 1980, he served as a
supervisor and until 1982 as the chief radio editor. After 1982 he worked for Milliyet
newspaper as a researcher and writer.
His first poem was published in the Gerçek review (1948). Then his poems,
essays and critiques were published in the reviews Beraber (1954), Mavi (1954-55), Pazar Postası (1955-60), Yeditepe (1955), Şairler Yaprağı (1950),
Kaynak (1959), Seçilmiş Hikâyeler (1960), Dost (1960-67), Yeni Dergi (1962-68),
Birikim (1965-80), Halkın Dostları (1979-80), Papirüs, Yazı, Yazko-Edebiyat, Somut,
Argos.
Ahmet Oktay, who is considered one of
the writers of the 1950’s generation, won the Yeditepe Poetry Award in 1965
with his book Her Yüz Bir Öykü Yazar
(Every Face Tells a Story) and the Behçet Necatigil Poetry
Award in 1987 with his book Yol Üstündeki Semender (Salamander
on the Road).
WORKS:
POETRY: Gölgeleri Kullanmak (Using the Shadows, 1963), Her Yüz Bir Öykü Yazar (Each Face Tells a Story, 1965), Dr. Kaligari'nin Dönüşü (Return of Dr. Kaligari, 1966), Sürgün (The Exile, 1979),
Sürdürülen Bir Şarkının Tarihi (History of
a Continued Song, 1981), Kara Bir Zamana Alınlık (A Façade of Dark
Times, 1983), Yol Üstündeki Semender (Salamander
on the Road, 1987), Ağıtlar ve Övgüler (Elegies
and Praises, 1991), Bütün Şiirleri (All Poems, 1995), Gözüm Seyirdi Vakitten (My Eyes
Flicking Through Time, 1996) , Söz Acıda
Sınandı (The Word was Examined in Pain, 1996), Az Kaldı Kışa (It’s Almost Winter, 1996), Hayalet Övgü (Ghostly Praise, 2003), Poyrazda Kımıldayan Salıncak (The Swing Moved Slightly in the Northeast Wind,
2004),
PLAY: Kurt Dişi (Teeth of the Wolf, 1974).
ESSAY-RESEARCH: Bir Arayış'ın Yazıları (Texts of a Search, 1981), Yazın İletişim İdeoloji (Literature, Communication, Ideology, 1982) Yazılanla
Okunan (To Be Written and To Be Read, 1983), Toplumcu Gerçekçiliğin Kaynakları (The Sources of Social
Realism, 1986), Kültür ve İdeoloji (Culture
and Ideology, 1987), Karanfil ve Pranga (Carnation and Shackle, 1990), Rafaillo'nun
Direnişi (Rafaillo’s Resistance, 1990),
Toplumsal Değişme ve Basın (Social Change and the Press, 1990), Şair ve Kurtarıcı (Poet and Redeemer,
1992), Kabul ve Red (Acceptance and
Rejection, 1992), Sanat ve Siyaset (Art
and Politics, 1993) Türkiye'de Popüler
Kültür (Popular Culture in Turkey,
1993), Cumhuriyet Dönemi Edebiyatı /
1923-1950 (Republican Period Literature / 1923-1950, 1993), İnsan, Yazar, Kitap (Man, Writer and
Book, 1995), Şiddet, Söz, Yaşam (Violence,
Speech and Life, 1995), Medya ve Hedonizm
(Media and Hedonism, 1995), İsrafilin
Sur'u (Raphael’s Trumpet, 1997),
Şairin Kanı (The Blood of the Poet, 2001), Anlatılanların Aynası (The Telling Mirror, 2001), Metropol ve İmgelem (Metropolis and
the Imagination, 2002), Entelektüel Tereddüt
(Intellectual Dilemma, 2003), Romanımıza
Ne Oldu (What Happened to Our Novel, 2003), İmkânsız Poetika (Impossible Poetics, 2004), Hayat Edebiyat Siyaset (Life, Literature and Politics, 2004).
MEMOIR: Gizli Çekmece (Secret Drawer, 1991), Gizli Çekmece-TRT’den, Bohemlerin ve
Edebiyatçıların Dünyasından Hayatı Hakikiye Sahneleri (Secret Drawer, Real Scenes
of the World of Bohemians and the Writers from the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation’s Archive, 2004).
HUMOROUS STORY: Tarantula Post (Tarantula Post, 2002).