2. YUNUS EMRE (1238 – 1320)
Yunus Emre was aTurkish poet and Sufi mystic. He has exercised immense influence on
Turkish literature, from his own day until the present. BecauseYunus Emre is, after Ahmet
Yesevi and SultanVeled, one of the first knownTurkish poets to have composed works in the
spokenTurkish of his own age and region rather than in Persian or Arabic, his diction remains
very close to the popular speech of his contemporaries in Central andWestern Anatolia.This is
also the language of a number of anonymous folk-poets, folk-songs, fairy tales, riddles
(tekerlemeler), and proverbs.
Yunus' impact onTurkish culture can be seen in various ways. During the efforts to purify the
Turkish language in the 1920's his poetry was a prime example of the dialect of Anatolian
peasants. Several authors claim that many idioms in everyday language are actually verses
from his poetry. His philosophy, metaphysics and humanism have been examined in various
symposiums and conferences on a regular basis both inTurkey and abroad. UNESCO named
Yunus Emre one of the main cultural figures of world, and dedicated 1991 as "The
InternationalYunus EmreYear". His work has been translated into several languages, and
historians consider his system of thought important for clues about thirteenth-century
Anatolia.These are just some examples of Emre's impact on comtemporaryTurkish society.
3. Mehmed Akif Ersoy (1873 - 1936)
• A greatTurkish - Islamic poet, he has also written the lyrics of
our national anthem.
• Akif practically screams with his poetry where he displays a striking
strong voice which kindles nationalistic feelings.The poem he
wrote for those who died at Gallipoli, is the greatest of the legends
of heroism. Akif who gave us the most effective examples of the
art of poetry, has moved to Anatolia during the National
Independence War, and was one of its participants.
• Despite the fact religious subjects are abundant in his poems, he
cannot be considered as merely an Islamic poet. His lines, taking
their theme from numerous problems faced by the society, has
proven that his vision reached far beyond religion. His poems are
collected in seven volumes under the title "Safahat".
4. Nâzım Hikmet (1902 –1963)
• Nazim Hikmet was born in 1902 in Salonika. He was exposed to poetry at an
early age through his artist mother and poet grandfather, and had his first
poems published when he was seventeen.
• After receiving early recognition for his patriotic poems in syllabic meter, he
came under the influence of the Russian Futurists in Moscow, and abandoned
traditional forms while attempting to "depoetize" poetry.
• Many of his works have been translated into English, including Human
Landscapes from My Country: An Epic Novel inVerse (2009), Things I Didn't
Know I Loved (1975), The Day BeforeTomorrow (1972), The Moscow
Symphony (1970), and Selected Poems (1967). In 1936 he published Seyh
Bedreddin destani ("The Epic of Shaykh Bedreddin") and Memleketimden insan
manzaralari ("Portraits of People from My Land").
• Hikmet died of a heart attack in Moscow in 1963.The first modernTurkish
poet, he is recognized around the world as one of the great international poets
of the twentieth century.
5. OrhanVeli Kanık (1914-1950)
• OrhanVeli was born in Istanbul. His father was a conductor of the
Presidential Symphony Orchestra. OrhanVeli studied at the Ankara
Gazi High School before he started his university education which
lasted one year at Istanbul University's philosophy department before
dropping out in 1935. He was employed by the Ministry of Education as
a translator from 1945 to 1947. Later, he worked as a freelance
translator and journalist. In 1949, he helped the publication ofYaprak, a
literary magazine. As also evidenced from the contents of some of his
deeply humorous poetry.
•
He is known for advocating a poetry without excessive stylistic
elements and adjectives, and preferring a style closer to free-verse. He
is known for his unique voice, and depth of emotion underlying the
seemingly easy-coming nature of his verse. His poetry is highly admired
by the public as well as in academic circles.
6. AsikVeysel (1894 - 1973)
• AsikVeysel (Veysel Satiroglu) is among the minstrels of the Republican era. Born
in the Sivrialan village of Sarkisla (district of Sivas), he lost his sight at the age of
7 during a smallpox epidemic. He developed his talents as he got familiar with
the broken saz (string instrument) given to him by his father to keep him
entertained, and as he listen to the wandering minstrels visiting Sivrialan.When
both his mother and father died in 1920, he was left alone with his saz and the
children of his elder brother. He gained recognition after 1931. He
reachedAnkara for the 10th year anniversary of the Republic established
byAtatürk after traveling on foot for three months. He traveled around the
country, reciting his poetry and playing his saz. He was a teacher of folk songs at
various village institutes. His house he lived in Sivas was restored and converted
into a museum in 1982.
• All poems of AsikVeysel were collected by UmitYasar Oguzcan and published
with the title "Let the Friends Remember Me" (1970).A book of collected works
edited by U.Y. Oguzcan was also published in 1973 which includes his biography
and articles written about him and his poetry.
7. Halide Edip Adivar (1884 - 1964)
• The renown novelist who was one of the heroes of the national
independence movement, has written stories which could penetrate to
the depths of human soul and which could excite the reader.
• She has proven herself as an analytical novelist which could effectively
bring to life exceptional female characters who are sometimes hurt when
faced with the eternal power of love and passion situations which also
push the stories forward, but who never bend.This is seen particularly in
"SeviyeTalib" published in 1909, "Raik'inAnnesi" (1910) and "Handan"
(1912). She has also proven with her novel "Son Eseri", published in 1912
that she was a master of creating characters who are equipped with an
unfailing love of art, and who posses an infinite source of excitement.
She started publishing the paperYeniTuran in the same year.
• Her most famous works are "Sinekli Bakkal", "Vurun Kahpeye", "Kalp
Agrisi" and "Zeyno'nunOglu".
8. Attilâ İlhan (1925 –2005)
• Attilâ İlhan was born in Menemen in İzmir Province,Turkey on 15 June
1925. He received most of his primary education in İzmir.
However, because of his father's job, he completed his junior high
school education in different cities.Aged 16 and enrolled in İzmir
Atatürk High School, he got into trouble for sending a poem by Nazım
Hikmet, a famous dissident communistTurkish poet, to a girl he was
in love with. He was arrested and taken into custody for three weeks.
He was also dismissed from school and jailed for two months. After
his imprisonment, İlhan was forbidden from attending any schools in
Turkey, thus interrupting his education.
• The poem, Cebbaroğlu Mehemmed won the second prize among many
poems written by famous poets. He gratuated from high school in
1942 and enrolled in İstanbul University's law school. However, he left
midway through his legal education to pursue his own endeavours and
published his first poetry book, Duvar (TheWall).
10. ORHAN PAMUK
• Orhan Pamuk is a world famous and Nobel prize winnerTurkish novelist from
modern times. He was born in Istanbul on 7th of June 1952. During his childhood in
Nisantasi neighborhood, he dreamed to become a painter so he kept painting until
he was 22 years old. He was graduated from the Robert College high
school in Istanbul and then went to IstanbulTechnical University to study
architecture. But after 3 years of architecture studies, he changed his mind and quit
the school then studied journalism at the Istanbul University, but he didn't become a
journalist neither. So, at the age of 23 he decided to become a writer and left
everything behind to dedicate himself in writing.
• Orhan Pamuk became a writer in 1974. In 1979, his first novel "Karanlik ve Isik"
(Darkness and Light fromTurkish) won the first prize during the Milliyet Novel
Competition.This novel was published as a book in 1982 under the name of "Cevdet
Bey ve Ogullari" (Mister Cevdet and His Sons), and then he won another prize in 1983
with the same book at the Orhan Kemal Novel prizes. Many of his later books won
also several international prizes all around the world, his novels are classified under
the post-modern novels category.
• Orhan Pamuk won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2006, becoming the
firstTurkish citizen to win such a prize and one of the two youngest persons to get
this prize
11. ELİF ŞAFAK
• Elif Shafak was born in Strasbourg, France, in 1971. She is an award-
winning novelist and the most widely read woman writer inTurkey.
Critics have named her as "one of the most distinctive voices in
contemporaryTurkish and world literature". Her books have been
translated into more than thirty languages and she was awarded the
honorary distinction of Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters.
• Shafak has published twelve books, eight of which are novels. She
writes fiction in bothTurkish and English. Shafak blendsWestern and
Eastern traditions of storytelling, bringing out the myriad stories of
women, minorities, immigrants, subcultures, youth and global souls.
Her work draws on diverse cultures and literary traditions, as well as
deep interest in history, philosophy,Sufism, oral culture, and cultural
politics. Shafak's writing breaks down categories, clichés, and cultural
ghettoes. She also has a keen eye for black humor.
