Journalist and writer (b. 16 March 1943,
Ankara). He has used the pen names Ahmet Kemal, Ahmet Samim and Sadık Özben. He
attended Moda Primary School (1954) and graduated from the Private English High
School for Boys (1962) and Istanbul University, Faculty of Literature,
Department of English Language and Literature (1966). He entered the faculty he
had graduated from as an assistant. He did his doctorate in 1968. He carried out studies related to his field
at Sussex University in the United Kingdom. He was sentenced to prison because
of political reasons during the 12 March Period. He returned to his job with a pardon
(1974). He is among the founders of the
journals Halkın Dostları (1970) and Birikim (1975). He became an associate
professor in 1980 and a professor in 1997.
He left the
university voluntarily in 1982 because of the activities of the Turkish Council
of Higher Education. He wrote for the
newspapers Demokrat and Cumhuriyet. He worked as general publishing director at Cumhuriyet Dönemi Türkiye Ansiklopedisi (Encyclopedia of Turkey in the Period of the
Republic), the weekly journal Yeni
Gündem and İletişim
Publications. He became the International President of the Helsinki Citizens
Association. He works as the General
Publication Director of İletişim Publications and as an instructor at Bilgi
University, Faculty of Science and Literature, Department of Comparative Literature.
His articles were first published in Yeni
Dergi in 1964 and since then have featured in the journals Yeni Dergi, Papirüs, Halkın Dostları,
Birikim, Yordam, Türk Dili, Alan, Milliyet Sanat, Gergedan and continuously
in Yeni Gündem. With his articles and his work as a researcher
he is among the well-known writers of the post-1980 period
WORKS:
ESSAY-REVIEW: Tarihten Güncelliğe (From History to
Today, 1983), Sosyalizm, Türkiye ve
Gelecek (Socialism, Turkey and the Future, 1989), Marksist Estetik-C. Claduell Üzerine Bir İnceleme (Marxist Esthetics-A
Research on C. Claduell, 1989), Türkiye
Dünyanın Neresinde? (Where is Turkey in The World?, 1992), 12 Yıl Sonra 12 Eylül (12 Years After 12
September, 1992), Türkler ve Kürtler
Nereden Nereye? (Turkish and Kurdish, from Where to Where, 1995), Edebiyat Üstüne Yazılar (Articles on
Literature, 1998), Tarih Boyunca Yemek
Kültürü (Food Culture Throughout
History, 2001), Yaklaştıkça Uzaklaşıyor
mu? Avrupa Birliği ve Türkiye (Is
it Becoming Further as We Get Closer? The European Union and Turkey).
TRAVEL LITERATURE: Blue Cruise (1991), İstanbul
Gezi Rehberi (Travel Guide to İstanbul, 1993), Başka Kentler Başka Denizler (Other Cities, Other Seas, 2002).
