Writer and critic (b. 1928
-officially 1927-, Erzincan – d. 2 June 1993, Sivas). He attended the Erzincan
High School (1945) and graduated from İstanbul University, Faculty of
Literature, Department of Turkish Language and Literature (1950). He worked for
a company in İstanbul and retired.
He entered the world of
literary through his political articles, which appeared in the newspaper Gerçek in 1950. Until 1959, he used the
pen names Fikret Arıel and Halis Acarı. Soon after 1960, he published his
articles under his real name in newspapers and magazines such as Yeni Ufuklar, Ataç, Halkın Dostları,
Militan, Politika, Dönem, Yön, Soyut, Papirüs, Yeni Edebiyat, De, Halkın
Dostları, Yeni a, Yeni Ortam, Dönemeç, Yazko Edebiyat. He also used the pen
names A. Toplumcu and Bülent Arıel. He is known for his research and appraisals
on literary periods and individuals. He was regarded as the “most appreciated
of living critics” by the magazine Otağ
in 1963 and by the readers of the magazine Yeni
Dergi in 1968. He was given the Ferit Oğuz Bayır Thought and Art Award in
1989 with his book Rıfat Ilgaz (Rıfat
Ilgaz). He died at the fire at the Hotel Madımak in Sivas in 1993. The book Asım Bezirci’ye Saygı Kitabı (Respect to
Asım Bezirci) was published by his fans posthumously (1993). He supported the
idea of objective and scientific criticism.
WORKS:
CRITICISM-RESEARCH-STUDY: Çok Kapılı Oda (The Room with Many
Doors, 1961), Edip Cansever (Edip
Cansever, an appraisal on the Turkish poet, 1961), Günlerin Getirdiği Götürdüğü (The Things the Days Brought and Took
from Us, 1962), Bilimden Yana Sosyalizme
Doğru (Towards Socialism from the Aspect of Science, 1963), Abdülhak Hamit ve Tarık / yahut Endülüs’ün
Fethi (Abdülhak Hamit and Tarık / or the Conquest of Spain, 1966), Okudukça (As Long as We Read, 1967), Orhan Veli Kanık (Orhan Veli Kanık, 1967), Ahmet Haşim (Ahmet Haşim, 1967), Nurullah
Ataç (Nurullah Ataç, 1968),
Dünden Bugüne Türk Şiiri (Turkish
Poetry in the Past and Present, 1968), Metin Eloğlu (Metin Eloğlu,
1971), On Şair On Şiir (Ten Poets,
Ten Poems, 1971), Seçme Romanlar
(Selected Novels, together with R. Taner, 1973), İkinci Yeni Olayı (The Case of the Second New Movement, 1974), Sabahattin Ali (Sabahattin Ali, 1974), Nazım
Hikmet ve Seçme Şiirleri (Nazım Hikmet and His Selected Poems, 1975), Halk, Sosyalizm, Kültür ve Edebiyat
(People, Socialism, Culture and Literature, 1979), 1950 Sonrasında Hikâyecilerimiz (Our Storywriters After 1950), Seçme Hikâyeciler (Selected
Storywriters, with R. Taner, 1981), Orhan
Kemal (Orhan Kemal, 1984), Pir Sultan (Pir Sultan, 1986), Halkımızın
Diliyle Barış (Peace in the Language of Our People, 1987), Şairlerimizin Diliyle Barış (Peace in
the Language of Our Poets, 1987), Türk-Yunan
Dostluk ve Barışı (Turkish-Greek Friendship and Peace, 1987), Otuz Beş Yaş – Cahit Sıtkı Tarancı / Bütün
Şiirleri (The Age of Thirty-Five - Cahit Sıtkı Tarancı / All Poems, 1988), Rıfat Ilgaz (Rıfat Ilgaz, 1988), Deyimlerimizin
Sözlüğü (The Dictionary of Our Idioms, 1990), Oktay Akbal (Oktay Akbal,
1991), Türk Halk Şiiri (Turkish Folk
Poetry, 1993), Temele Gül Dikenler
(Those Planting Roses in the Foundations, 1997), Güle Dil Verenler (Those Who Make the Rose Speak, about 13 poets,
1998), Nezihe Meriç (Nezihe Meriç, 1999), Abdülhak Hamit-Bütün Eserleri (Abdühak
Hamit-Collected Works, 2001).
ANTHOLOGY: Dünden Bugüne Türk Şiiri (Turkish Poetry
from the Past to Present, 5 volumes, 1- Halk Şiiri (Folk Poetry), 2- Divan
Şiiri (Divan* Poetry), 3- Yeni Şiir (Contemporary Poetry), 4- Yeni
Şiir (Contemporary Poetry), 5- Yeni Şiir (Contemporary Poetry),
edited by Kemal Özer, 2002).
