Literary scholar,
investigative writer. She was born in 1946 in Ödemiş (a small town near to
Izmir). Her family is of Rumelian descent. Her mother's family, who lived in
the city of Kavala in Rumelia, had to immigrate to Turkey in 1924 due to the
Population Exchange. And her father's family, who lived in Iskeçe (Xanthi) city
of Western Thrace, which was excluded from the Population Exchange, fled to the
homeland in 1927 in order to survive.
The author's childhood
and early youth passed in Ödemiş. She graduated from Izmir Education Institute,
Department of Literature in 1965. She taught Turkish and Turkish Language and
Literature in various places in all over Turkey like Denizli-Buldan, Aydın,
Diyarbakır, Balıkesir and İzmir.
After her retirement
in 1992, she added the avocation of writing articles and books to her avocation
of reading which she had never stopped since her student years.
Her travelling articles were published in the "Cumhuriyet Magazine
Supplement" (one of the most reputable Turkish newspaper) and her
biography, short stories and essays were published in the local magazines like Karşıyaka
Karşıyaka, İzmir İzmir, Re-Imece, Birlik
and on the website named "Woman-eye.
Firdevs Tunçay, who
lives in İzmir-Karşıyaka, is an honorary member of the "Lausanne Emigrants
Foundation", a founding member of the "Lausanne Emigrants Foundation
Aegean Regional Branch", a member of the "International Women's Solidarity
Association İzmir Branch (IWSA)" and the "KIBATEK" (Cyprus
Balkans Eurasian Turkish Literatures Institution Association).
Works:
1-) Firdevs Tunçay's
first work, "My Heart Has Remained in
Rumelia", which she wrote based on the memories of her family and ancesters
which were obliged to immigrate, reached to its 3rd eddition since its first
eddition in 2013 by SAY Publishing, and met the readers with its 4th edition in
the first days of 2019. The theme of immigration/exchange was included first
time in the books of "Ministry of National Education Secondary School and
Imam Hatip Secondary School 8th Grade Turkish Textbook" in 2020 with a
piece taken from the book “My Heart Has Remained in Rumelia” by the author
Firdevs Tunçay.
2-) The author went to
Athens to write her second book, "My
Heart Has Remained in Anatolia", she found Anatolian Greeks and had
face-to-face interviews with them. In this book, which was published in 2019,
she describes "The Other Side of the Exchange: Anatolian Greeks".
3-) Writer Firdevs
Tunçay, in her third work titled "Children
of Nostalgia", told the stories of Macedonian immigrants in addition
to Rumelian immigrants. This 3rd book published in 2021 and was written in the
style of Micro History Documentary Novel like her other books.
Firdevs Tunçay has
devoted her life to the immigration/exchange. On October 10th, 2017, before the
"Buca Migration and Exchange Memorial House" was opened by the Izmir
Metropolitan Municipality, she had donated all her archives and souvenirs that
her ancestors brought from Rumelia to the Memorial House.
Firdevs Tunçay is
married and has two children and a grandchild.
REFERENCE: Kemal
Yalcin (confirmation of information, 12.07.2021).
