Poet and
writer (b. 1927, İstanbul - d. 15 December 2004, İstanbul). He attended İstanbul 34th Primary School and
İzmir Karşıyaka Secondary School (1943).
When he was a student at Karşıyaka High School (1946), he was expelled
due to an absence of four and a half months during which time he was arrested
on the charge of acting against article 142 of the Turkish criminal code. He worked as a typist (1946) at İzmir Municipality and as an employee at a bank in İstanbul
(1951-53). He was arrested again due to political reasons in 1953.
After spending 2 years in prison and then being released (1955), he
worked as a proofreader at the newspapers Tan, Yeni Gazete and Varlık
Republishing (1956-60). He managed
the journal Yelken (1958-62) and the
journals he published, Ataç (1962-64)
and Eylem (1964-66). After founding and managing Ataç Publishing
for some time (1958-1976), Kurdakul became a management member of the Writers
Syndicate of Turkey (1977), and then he became deputy president of the syndicate. In 1988 he
was one of the founders of the PEN Writers Association. Between 1989 and 1991
he was deputy president of the association and between 1991 and 1997 he became
president. After a long time having treatment for cancer, he died at his house
at the age of 77. He is buried in
Sahra-ı Cedid Cemetery.
He wrote his first poems in verse and rhyme
between 1943 and 1953. After
1953 he adopted the idea of art for the community and wrote activist
poems. He wrote his stories with the
same philosophy and did research in the field of literature
history. His poems, stories and articles
were published in journals and newspapers such as Fikirler, Çığır, Kaynak, and in journals of which he was part of
the management such as Yeryüzü, Yelken,
Ataç, Eylem, Ant, Vatan, Akşam, Yeni Ufuklar, Yeni Dergi, Yansıma, Cumhuriyet,
Milliyet -Sanat, Yazko-Edebiyat, Bilim ve Sanat. With his book Bir Yürekten Bir Yaşamdan (Once From the Heart and Once From Life,
1982) he won the Nevzat Üstün 1983 Poem Award.
On the suggestion of the PEN Writers Association and with the approval
of UNESCO, he won the 2002 World Poem Day Grand Prize, which has been held
throughout the world since 1997. He was
guest of honor at the 19th Fairs and Exhibitions Organization Inc. İstanbul
Book Fair in 2000. New editions of all
his books began to be published by Evrensel Publishing in 2002.
WORKS:
POETRY: Tomurcuk (Bud, 1943), Zevklerin
ve Hülyaların Şiirleri (Poems of Pleasures and Dreams, 1944), Giderayak (While Going, 1956), Nice Kaygılardan Sonra (After Many
Worries, 1963), İzmir'in İçinde Amerikan
Neferi (An American Soldier in İzmir, 1965), Halk Orduları (Public Armies, 1969), Acılar Dönemi (Time of Pain, 1977), Bir Yürekten Bir Yaşamdan (Once from the Heart and Once from Life,
1982), Ökselerin Yöresinde (Among the
Birdlimes, 1984), Ölümsüzlerle (With
the Immortal, 1985), İhtiyar Yüzyıla
(In the Old Century, 1997), Ökselerin Yöresinde
(Among the Birdlimes, collected poems 4, 2001), Ölümsüzlerle (With the Immortals, collected poems 5, 2001).
SHORT STORY: Tanığın
Biri (A Witness, 1970), Beyaz
Yakalılar (White Collar People, 1972), Kurtuluştan Sonra (After the Liberation, 1973), Onların Çocukları (Their Children,
1975), Öyküler (Stories, selected
stories, 1987), Tanığın Biri Beyaz
Yakalılar (A Witness-White Collar People, collected stories 1, 2001), Kurtuluştan Sonra Onların Çocukları
(After the Liberation-Their Children, collected stories 2, 2001).
RESEARCH: Sosyalist Açıdan Türk-İş Yargılanıyor (The Confederation of Turkish
Trade Unions is Judged
from the Angle of Socialism, with Şaban Yıldız-, 1966), Şairler ve Yazarlar Sözlüğü (Poets and Writers Dictionary, 1971,
6th edition, 1999), Çağdaş Türk Edebiyatı
- Meşrutiyet Dönemi (Contemporary Turkish Literature-The Constitutional
Monarchy Period, 1976), Namık Kemal (Namık
Kemal, 1977), Nazım'ın Bilinmeyen
Mektupları (Unknown Letters of Nazım, anthology, 1986), Çağdaş Türk Edebiyatı - Cumhuriyet Dönemi
(Contemporary Turkish Literature-Republican Period, 1987), Nâzım Hikmet Şiirinde Belirgin Temalar Nâzım, Dünya ve Biz (Clear
Points in the Poems of Nâzım; Nâzım, the World and Us, with Hikmet Sennur
Sezer, 2002), Çağdaş Türk Edebiyatı
(Contemporary Turkish Literature, 4 books, 2002).
