Enderunlu Fazıl

Divan* poet (b. 1759, Acre – d. 1810, İstanbul). When his father was killed after an uprising to avenge the death of his father, Tahir Ömer, killed in a revolt against Abdülhamit I in Acre, Fazıl was brought to the women’s apartments at the palace (1765) where he lived for nine years but then was sent away because of his love affairs. He lived in poverty for twelve years. He was forgiven and appointed to the Rhodes Pious Foundations as a clerk as reward for his eulogies written for Selim III.

He was given the title of lieutenant and worked as a high-grade clerk in Aleppo and Erzurum. He was exiled to Rhodes in 1799 for his satires written while he was in İstanbul. When he lost his sight and became ill, he was allowed to return to İstanbul. He became known for his lyric poems influenced by Nedim and his rhymed couplet poems that narrate scenes from İstanbul and the women of the city. It was a misfortune for his life and art that he was fond of physical pleasures, used obscenities in his work and exposed the weaker sides of his personality.

WORKS:

Divan (Complete Poetry, 1842), Defter-i Aşk (Love Book, quatrains), Hubânnâme (Book of the Beautiful, rhymed couplet poetry), Zenannâme (Book of Women, rhymed couplet poetry), Çenginame (Book of the Dancer, rhymed couplet poetry).

His works, except his Divan*, were published in 1870.