Poet and Writer (b. 22 January
1933, Ergani / Diyarbakır). His full
name is Mehmet Sezai Karakoç. He used the pen names Mehmed Levendoğlu, Zülküf
Canyüce, Sait Yeni, M. Cemil, Mehmed Yasin. He attended primary school in
Ergani, and Maraş Secondary School and Gaziantep High School as beneficiary
student (1950). After graduating from Ankara University, Faculty of Political
Sciences (1955), he worked as an executive inspector in the Ministry of Finance
(1956-59), and as a controller in the Directorate of Income (1959-65). In 1965,
he quitted his job and became anecdote writer in Babıali'de Sabah newspaper (1967-68), and directed himself to the
literary works. In 1960 he founded Diriliş
and published only two issues than he gave up and, in 1966 he republished the
review. Diriliş review was published
in 1966-67 season for 12 issues; 1969-71 season for 16 issues, September 1974-
February 1976 season monthly 18 issues, in May 1976- August 1978 season. It was
published in the sizes of a typical newspaper two times in a week; 42 issue
(1960). Diriliş, was reedited for the
September 1979-October 1980 Season, monthly 12 issues, and between 7 January
1983 – 17 June 1983 as a daily newspaper of 160 issues, between July 1988 –
February 1992 weekly newspaper of 133 issues. Karakoç was served in the same
Ministry between the years 1971-
Even Karakoç carries the formal
similarities of the poets of the Second New Movement, from the point of the his poems sources, he became one of the
masterful and independent poets of Turkish Literature. As being a thought man,
his ideas which defended that Islamic culture and civilization has to be Revival
and take its real place in the contemporary world made to form quite efficient Revival School in the Turkish culture
and art life. This concept was born from an article published about the
Algerians Independence war. The name of the article was Bir Milletin Ba’sü Ba’de-l’Mevti’(The Revival of a Nation) His poems were published in the Hisar (1951-54), Mülkiye (1953-54), İstanbul
(1953-57), çıkardığı Şiir Sanatı (1955),
Pazar Postası (1957-58), Soyut (1965), Diriliş (Starting from 1966) reviews. He wrote daily anectodes to
the Yeni İstanbul (1964), Babıalide Sabah (1967-68), Millî Gazete (1974) newspapers. His
essay, research and critics were published in the Pazar Postası (1957-58), Yeni
İstiklâl (1961-64), Büyük Doğu (1964-67)
and mostly in the Diriliş Review.
He collected Turkish National Students Union National Service Award in
1968; in 1982 he won the Story Award of the Writers’ Union of Turkey with his
book Hikâyeler (The Stories) and also in 1988 the Over-Work Award of the
same Union again. He won the World Academy of Art and Culture Award of
XII. World Poets Congresses. His name was given to a street in his native city,
Diyarbakır.
The essence is also played an
important role in addition to formality in his poetry understanding. The quality of this essence come from the
grasping of local and national values with the Islamic senses and this quality
were added to the Karakoç’s poems in a lovely and peculiar to the Karakoç’s
completeness. The Idea of Revival was put into the all Works of the Poet and
became basis for Karakoç’s poetry.
WORKS:
POETRY: Körfez (The Gulf, 1959), Şahdamar
(The Main Vessels, 1962), Şiirler I -
Hızırla Kırk Saat (Poems I: Forthy Hours with Hızır*, 1967), Sesler (The Voices, 1968), Şiirler II – Taha’nın Kitabı / Gül Muştusu (Poems
II, The Book of Taha/ The Good News
from the Rose 1968), Şiirler III – Körfez
/ Şahdamar / Sesler (Poems III
The Gulf / The Main Vessels / The Voices 1974), Şiirler IV - Zamana Adanmış Sözler (Poems IV: Words Dedicated to the Time, 1975), Şiirler V - Ayinler /
Çeşmeler (Poems V – Rites and
Fountains, 1977), Şiirler VI - Leylâ ile
Mecnun (Poems VI: Leyla and
Mecnun, 1980), Şiirler VII - Ateş Dansı
(Poems VII- The Fire Dance, 1987), Şiirler VIII - Alınyazısı Saati (Poems VIII- The Clock of the Faith 1989), Şiirler IX – Monna Rosa (Poems IX
Monna Rosa 1998, published in reviews- 1951-54), Gün Doğmadan (Before the Sun Rise, All Poems, 2000).
ESSAY: Edebiyat Yazıları I - Medeniyetin Rüyası Rüyanın Medeniyeti Şiir (Essays on Literature I – The Dream of Our
Civilization and the Civilization of our Dream Poetry, 1982),
Edebiyat Yazıları II – Dişimizin Zarı (Essays on Literature II – The Wall of Our Teeth, 1986), Edebiyat Yazıları III – Eğik Ehramlar (Essays on Literature III – Untrue Cloaks, 1996).
TRANSLATED POETRY: Üç Kaside (Three Kaside*, 1967, extended
version, phrases from Islamic Works Monuments, 1976), Batı Şiirlerinden (From Western Poetry, 1976).
SHORT STORY: Hikâyeler I - Meydan Ortaya Çıktığında (Short Stories I:
When the Area Appears, 1978), Hikâyeler
II - Portreler (Short Stories II , Portraits, 1982).
PLAY: Piyesler I (Short Plays I
1982), Armağan ( The
Gift 1997).
THOUGHT: İslâmın Dirilişi (Revival of Islam, 1967), İslâm (Islam, 1967), İslâm Toplumunun Ekonomik Strüktürü (The Economic Structure of
Islamic Society, 1967), Dirilişin
Çevresinde (Around the Revival, 1967), Kıyamet
Aşısı (The
Vacciene for Armegeddon, 1968), Mağara ve
Işık (The Cave and The Light, 1969), Allah'a
İnanma ve İnsanlık (Believing to God and Humanity, 1970), Ölümden Sonra Kalkış (Wake Up after
Death, 1970), Ruhun Dirilişi (The
Revival of Soul , The Cave and The Light, Wake Up after Death,
together, 1974),
Çağ ve İlham I - Metafizik Gerilim Şartı ( The Era and
the Inspiration- The Must for
Metaphysical Tension , 1974), Yitik
Cennet ( The Lost Heaven, 1976 ), İnsanlığın
Dirilişi (The Revival of Humanity, 1976), Diriliş Neslinin Âmentüsü (The Maentü of the Revival Generation,
1976), Çağ ve İlham II (The Era and
the Inspiration II 1977), Gündönümü ( The Equinox, 1977), Çağ ve İlham III - Yazgı Seçişi (The Era and the Inspiration, The
selection of the Faith, 1980), Makamda ( At my Title, 1980), Diriliş Muştusu (Good News of the
Revival, 1980), Çağ ve İlham IV (The
Era and the Inspiration IV 1986), Düşünceler I - Kavramlar (Thoughts I – Concepts, 1986), Gün
Saati (The Clock of the Day, 1986), Fizikötesi Açısından Ufuklar ve Daha Ötesi I - Perde Devrildiği An (The
Horizons from the point of view of Metaphysics and More I, When the Stage
Collapsed, 1995), Fizikötesi Açısından
Ufuklar ve Daha Ötesi II – Diriliş Şoku (The
Horizons from the point of view of Metaphysics and More – The Shock of Revival,
1995), Fizikötesi Açısından Ufuklar ve
Daha Ötesi III – Doğum Işığı (The
Horizons from the point of view of Metaphysics and More III – The Light of
Birth, 1995), Yapı Taşları ve Kaderimizin
Çağrısı I (The Elements and the Call
of Our Faith, 1996), Yapı Taşları ve
Kaderimizin Çağrısı II (The Elements
and the Call of Our Faith II, 1996), Unutuş
ve Hatırlayış (Had Forgetten and Had Remembered, 1996), Varolma Savaşı (The War of Existence,
1997), Çağdaş Batı Düşüncesinden (From the Modern Western Thoughts,
1997), Düşünceler II- Kurumlar (Thoughts
II – Institutions, 1997), Samanyolunda
Ziyafet (The Feast on the
Milkway, 2004 ).
DAILY ARTICLES: Farklar (The Differences, 1967), Sütun (The Columns, 1969), Sûr (1975), Günsaati (The Day Clock1986).
STUDY: Yunus Emre (Yunus Emre, 1965), Mehmet
Âkif (Mehmet Akif, 1968), Mevlânâ
(Mevlana, 1996).
OTHER: Tarihin Yol Ağzında (In the
Cross point of History, Interview, 1996), Çıkış Yolu I – Ülkemizin Geleceği (The Way to Exit – The Future of
Our Country, conferences, 2002),
Çıkış Yolu II – Medeniyetimizin Dirilişi (The
Way to Exit II – The Revival of Our
Civilization, conferences, 2002), Çıkış
Yolu III – Kutlu Millet Gerçeği (The Way to Exit III- The Reality of the Holy
Nation, Speeches among the Public, 2003).
REFERENCE: Ahmet Kabaklı / Türk Edebiyatı (1966), Mücellidoğlu Ali Çankaya / Yeni Mülkiye Tarihi ve Mülkiyeliler (1969), Mehmet Kaplan / Cumhuriyet Devri Türk Şiiri (1973) - Şiir Tahlilleri II (8. bas. 1999), Asım Bezirci / İkinci Yeni Olayı (1974) - Çok Kapılı Oda (1990), Necip Fazıl / Babıâli (1975) - Cinnet Mustatili (1983), Cahit Zarifoğlu / Yaşamak (1980), Ebubekir Eroğlu / Sezai Karakoç’un Şiiri (1981), Kâmil Eşfak Berki / Leylâ ile Mecnun’un Yeniden Yazılışı (Yönelişler, Ekim 1981), Cemal Süreya / Günübirlik (1982) - 99 Yüz (1991) - 999. Gün (1991), Behçet Necatigil / Edebiyatımızda İsimler Sözlüğü (1985), İlhan Kutluer / İki Denizin Birleştiği Yer (1987), İhsan Işık / Yazarlar Sözlüğü (1990, 1998) - Türkiye Yazarlar Ansiklopedisi (2001, 2004) – Encyclopedia of Turkish Authors (2005) - Resimli ve Metin Örnekli Türkiye Edebiyatçılar ve Kültür Adamları Ansiklopedisi (2007, 2009) - Ünlü Edebiyatçılar (Türkiye Ünlüleri Ansiklopedisi, C. 4, 2013) - Encyclopedia of Turkey’s Fomous People (2013) - Diyarbakır Ansiklopedisi (2013) – Geçmişten Günümüze Diyarbakırlı İlim Adamları Yazarlar ve Sanatçılar (2014), Şerif Mardin / Türkiye’de Din ve Siyaset (1991), Ece Ayhan / Şiirin Bir Altın Çağı (1993), Sezai Karakoç Özel Sayısı (İmza, Ekim 1993), Sezai Karakoç Özel Sayısı (Yedi İklim, Kasım-Aralık 1993), Attilâ İlhan / İkinci Yeni Savaşı (1996), Sezai Karakoç Özel Sayısı (Yedi İklim, Eylül 2000), Ahmet Oktay / Şairin Kanı (2001), Sezai Karakoç Özel Sayısı (Türk Edebiyatı, Eylül 2002), Sezai Karakoç Özel Sayısı (Yedi İklim, Eylül 2002), Sezai Karakoç Özel Sayısı (Hece, Ocak 2003), Osman Özbahçe, İkinci Yeninin Doğuşu (Kökler, Mart 2006), Ali Haydar Haksal / Sezai Karakoç: Eleğimsağmalarda Gökanıtı (2007), Sezai Karakoç Kitabı (2015).
