Poet and writer
(b. 1921, Florina / Greece – d. 10 November 2001, İstanbul). His childhood
years passed in Urla, where his family migrated during the Greek-Turkish
population exchange. He attended the Şehit Kemal Primary School (1932), the secondary
section of İzmir Teacher Training School for Boys (1935), İzmir Atatürk High
School (1938), and graduated from Ankara University, Faculty of Law (1941). He
worked at the Turkish Grain Board for a while. After military service, he
worked at the General Directorate of Fine Arts at the Ministry of National
Education (1945 – 48). Then, he worked as a lawyer in Urla in İzmir (1950- 57);
as a civil officer at the office of press attaché in Paris (1956 –59) and as a
redactor at İstanbul Radio (1959- 63). Together with his wife, who was an
officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he traveled to Israel and Paris.
After 1970, he worked as an independent writer in İstanbul.
His poems, stories
and essays were first published in a review of Urla Folk House called Ocak
and then in other reviews such as Varlık, Servet-i Fünun, Yeni İnsanlık and
Küllük. After 1980, he took place among the members of editorial board and
the permanent writers of the weekly review 2000’e Doğru. With his poems,
stories, novels, essays and plays, he has been one of the most productive
writers of recent years.
He
collected the Sait Faik Poetry Award in 1957 with Değişik Gözle (With a Different Eye) and in 1976 with Makedonya (Macedonia). His book titled Yağmurlu Deniz (The Rainy Sea) received
the Turkish Language Association Poetry Award and his book titled with Tufandan Önce (Before Deluge), where he
collected his all poems, received the Yeditepe Poetry Award in 1984. With his
last novel Viran Dağlar (The Ruined
Mountains), he received the Orhan Kemal Novel Award and Yunus Nadi Novel Award.
The director Metin Erksan collected the Golden Bear Award at Berlin Film
Festival in 1964 and brought the first international award to Turkey in cinema
category with the film that was adapted with the same title from his novel Susuz Yaz (The Dry Summer). He won the
Muhsin Ertuğrul Award in 1979 with Yaralı
Geyik (The Wounded Deer), and the Ministry of Culture Theater Award in 1982
with a play titled Dün Neredeydiniz
(Where Were You Yesterday). Most of his plays have been translated into various
languages and were adapted to television and cinema.
WORKS:
POETRY: Kızılçullu Yolu (The Way of Kızılçullu,
1943), Harbe Gidenin Şarkıları (The
Songs of One who Goes to War, 1945), Mayıs
Ayı Notları (Notes of May, 1947), Güzel
Aydınlık (The Nice Light, 1951), Denizin
İlk Yükselişi (The First Rise of the Sea, his first three books, in one,
1954), İmbatla Gelen (Coming with
Onshore Wind, 1955), Güneş Çizgisi
(The Line Of Sun, 1957), Yağmurlu Deniz
(The Rainy Sea, his last two books and his new poems in one, 1968), Başaklar Gebe (The Gleanings are
Pregnant, 1970), Ceylan Ağıdı (Lament
of a Gazelle, 1974), Aç Güneş (The
Hungry Sun, all poems, 1980), Bozkırda
Bir Atlı (A Horse rider on the Step, 1981), Yarasın Beyler (Cheers Misters, 1982), Tufandan Önce (Before Deluge, all poems I, 1983), Aşklar Yalnızlıklar (Loves, Loneliness,
collected poems, 1985), Kısmeti Kapalı
Gençlik (The Youth whose Fortune is Turned Down, all poems II, 1986), Seçme Şiirler (Selected Poems, 1998).
SHORT
STORY: Yalnız Kadın (The Lonely Woman, 1955), Değişik Gözle (With
A Different Eye, 1956), Susuz Yaz (The Dry Summer, 1962), Ay Büyürken
Uyuyamam (I Can’t Sleep As the Moon Grows, 1969), Makedonya 1900
(Macedonia 1900, 1976), Kente İnen Kaplanlar (The Tigers that Came to
the City, 1976), Dilâ Hanım (Dila Hanım, 1978; was adapted to cinema), Revizyonist
(The Revisionist, 1979), Yakubun Koyunları (The Sheep of Yakup, 1979), Aylı
Bıçak (The Knife with a Moon, 1981, Uzun Bir Gece (A Long Night,
1991).
NOVEL: Tütün Zamanı (Time of Tobacco, 1959;
with the title Zeliş-Zeliş, 1971), Yağmurlar ve Topraklar (Rain and the
Earth, 1973), Acı Tütün (Bitter
Tobacco, 1974), Aşk da Gezer (The
Love Travels, Too, 1975), Uç Minik Serçem
(Fly, My Little Sparrow, 1990), Viran
Dağlar (Ruined Mountains, 1994).
PLAY: Mine (Mine, 1959), Oyunlar 1-Boş Beşik, Ezik
Otlar, Vur Emri (Plays 1–The
Empty Cradle / the Crushed Weed / The Order to Kill, 1969), Oyunlar 2-Susuz Yaz, Tehlikeli Güvercin, Yeni Çıkan Şarkılar (Plays 2– The Dry Summer / the Dangerous Dove /
Newly Composed Songs, 1969), Oyunlar
3-Nalınlar, Masallar, Kaynana Ciğeri (Plays 3-The Clogs /
Fairy Tales / the Compassion of Mother-in-Law, 1969), Oyunlar 4-Derya Gülü, Aşk
Duvarı, Zorla İspanyol (Plays
4–The Rose of Sea / The Wall of Love / Spanish by Force, 1969), Oyunlar 5-Gömü, Bakan Bekliyoruz, Kristof Kolomb’un Yumurtası (Plays 5–The Treasure
/ We Are Expecting a Minister / The Egg of Christopher Columbus, 1973), Oyunlar 6-Mine, Yürüyen Geceyi Dinle, İş Karar Vermekte (Plays 6-Mine / Listen to
the Walking Night / The Matter Is To Decide, 1963), Yaralı Geyik (The Wounded Deer, 1981), Dün Neredeydiniz (Where Were You Yesterday, 1983), Bir Sabah Gülerek Uyan (Wake Up Smiling
in one Morning, 1990), Vatan Diye Diye
(Saying Oh Homeland, 1990), Devetabanı
(Coltsfoot, 1992); his plays titled with Ceyhan ile Sevdican (Ceyhan and Sevdican, 1988) and Yalnız Ölü (The Lonely Dead, 1990) have
not been staged yet; Çalıkuşu
(adapted to the stage from the novel of Reşat Nuri Güntekin with the same
title, 1963). From his plays, Mine (Mine,
1950), Boş Beşik (The Empty Cradle)
and Susuz Yaz (The Dry Summer) were
filmed, and have been published with
Nalınlar (The Clogs) and Derya Gülü (The Rose of Sea).
ESSAY: Niçin Aşk (Why
Love, 1971), Senin İçin Ey Demokrasi (For You, Oh Democracy, 1976), Etiler
Mektupları (Letters from Etiler, 1982), Niçin Af (Why Amnesty,
1989), Şiddet Ruhu (The Soul of Violence, 1990).
JOURNAL: Yeşil Bir At
Sırtında (On the Back of a Green Horse, 1990).