Poet
and writer (b. 30 December 1944, Prizren / Kosovo - d. 29 April 2006, Ankara). He attended primary,
elementary and high school at his hometown. He studied pedagogy and Turkish
literature in Skopje. He embarked on a career in journalism at a very early
age. He took practical training at the newspaper Cumhuriyet in Turkey
for two years (1969-71). He wrote features while traveling around the world. He
was the editor of the reviews Sevinç and Tomurcuk in Skopje, the
children’s magazine Kuş and the literary review Çığ in Pristina.
He worked as the General Director of the Turkish broadcasting department of
Pristina TV. During the war in Kosovo, all his works, including sixty files of
work were burned and destroyed. He saved himself and his family from being
killed and took refuge at Kırklareli Refugee Camp and then in Ankara, on the
instructions of the Turkish Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit. He was appointed
guest researcher at Bilkent University, Department of Turkish Language and
Literature.
He has contributed to
Yugoslavian children’s literature and has been a columnist at the weekly
newspaper Tan in Pristina and a broadcaster at the Turkish broadcasting
department of Pristina TV. He has published around forty translations from
Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian and Albanian. He has worked as a dramatist at the
Skopje Turkish Theatre and established a children’s theatre there. He founded
the Prizren Turkish Theatre in 1978. He gained fame with his poems published in
the reviews Günce, Dört Mevsim and Varlık. He received many
awards with his works Sarı Yusuf (Yusuf the Blond) and Körağa Sokağı
(Körağa Street). He was given the title “Best Literature Writer of the Balkans”
with his work. The awards he has collected in Turkey number eighteen. His three
plays for theatre and fifteen plays for television and ten plays for radio have
been performed and broadcast in London, Skopje, Prizren, Pristina, İstanbul and
İzmir. All his works have been published in twelve volumes by Tan Publications.
He is a member of the World Writers Association and he was nominated for the
Pulitzer in 1996. Some of the awards he has collected are, the Ömer Faruk
Toprak Achievement Award in 1987 with Dayler Dayler (Mountains,
Mountains), the Balkan Best Turkish Literature Writers Award in 1996 with Toplu
Yapıtları (Collected Works), and the title “Cengiz Aytmatov of the Balkans”
by the Prizren Turkish Culture Association in 2003.
WORKS:
POETRY: Aynam
(My Mirror, 1967), Dağ Gelini (Mountain Bride, 1970), Sarı Yusuf
(Yusuf the Blond, 1972), Mermere Kazılan (Carved on Marble, 1975), Çağyel
(The Wind of Time, 1976), Uzatılan Yaşam (Extended Life, 1979), Çağlar
Köprüsü (Bridge Between Ages, 1980), Güneş İzi (Trace of Sun, 1983),
Ayrılık Aynası (Mirror of Separation, 1983), Elele (Hand in Hand,
1985), Dayler Dayler (Mountains, Mountains, 1987), Uzun İnce Bir
Yoldayım (I’m on a Long, Narrow Road 1988), Ak Yüzün Simgeleri (Symbols
of the Honest Face, 1990), Kız Kalesi (The Girl’s Castle, 1997), Sevinç
ve Düş (Joy and Dream, 1997), Sarıgöl (Sarıgöl, 1997), Hüzne
Soyunmak (Disrobing for Grief, 1999), Tuna Nehri Aksam Diyor (The
River Danube Wants to Flow, 2000).
SHORT STORY: Küçük
Ali (Little Ali, 1969), Memiş (Memiş, 1971), Körağa Sokağı (Körağa
Street, 1975), Unutulmayan Günler (Unforgotten Days, 1979), Şanlı
Bezi (Famous Duster 1982), Aldı da Bir Yağmur (It’s Pouring Down
with Rain, 1985), Dedemin Elleri (Hands of My Grandfather, 1998), Az
Gelir Bir Gökyüzü (One Sky is not Enough, 1998), Afacan’ın Serüvenleri (Adventures
of the Mischievous - 1998), Candan’ın Dünyası (Candan’s World, 1998), Sevinç
Uzak Bir Düştü (Joy was a Distant Dream, 2000), Kosova’da Maziye
Karışanlar (Those Who Belong to Kosovo’s Past, 2001).
NOVEL:
Yörük Osman (Yuruk Osman, 1972), Karanfil İsmail (Carnation
İsmail, 1974), Köy Çocuğu (Kid from the Village, 1981), Namus Köprüsü
(Bridge of Chastity, 1987), Onlar da Ağlar (They Cry too, 2003).
INVESTIGATION:
Yaprak (Leaf, 1985).
ANTHOLOGY:
Bir Avuç Mavi (A Handful of Blue, 1985, an anthology of the people of
Kosovo), Barış Kuşları (Birds of Peace, 1987, a selection of Yugoslavian
poetry), Can Gergefi (Frame of Life, 1999, anthology of contemporary
Turkish poetry in Yugoslavia), Balkanlarda Çağdaş Türk Şiiri Antolojisi
(Anthology of Contemporary Turkish Poetry in the Balkans, 2000), Bize de
Gülüş Verin (Give Us Laughter, Too, Turkish Children’s Literature in the
Balkans, 2001), Balkanlarda Türk Hikâye Antolojisi (Anthology of Turkish
Short Stories in the Balkans, 2001).
ESSAY-RESEARCH:
Dolu Dizgin Yıllar (Years at Full Speed, 1996), Ata Dedik Türk Dedik (We
Called Them Ancestors; We Called Them Turkish, 2002).
Besides these, he has written thirty books of children’s
literature and twenty plays.