Attila Ilhan
Encyclopedia
Attilâ İlhan was a Turkish
poet
, novelist, essayist, journalist
and reviewer.
in İzmir Province
, Turkey
. 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 communist Turkish 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.
Following a favourable court decision in 1941, he received permission to continue his education again and enrolled in Istanbul
Işık High School. During the last year of his high school education, his uncle sent one of his poems to CHP
Poetry Competition without telling Attilâ. 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 (The Wall).
, he went to Paris
in order to take part in supporting Nazım Hikmet. His observations of the French and their culture were to influence many of his works.
After returning to Turkey, he repeatedly ran into trouble with the police. Interrogations in Sansaryan Han influenced his works based on death, thriller, etc.
philosophy. In the 1950s Attilâ İlhan spent his days along an İstanbul–Paris–İzmir triangle and during this period he started to become popular in Turkey. After returning to Turkey, he resumed studying law. However, in his last year at law school, he left university and took up a journalistic career. His relationship with the cinema also started in this year. He began writing movie reviews and critiques in Vatan newspaper.
in 1957, İlhan returned to İstanbul and concentrated on cinema. He wrote screenplays for nearly 15 movies under the nom de plume Ali Kaptanoğlu. However, cinema didn't meet his expectations and he went back to Paris in 1960. During this period, he analyzed the development of socialism and television. The unexpected death of his father caused him to return to his hometown of İzmir, where he would remain for the next eight years. During this period, he served as the editorial writer and editor-in-chief of the Democratic İzmir newspaper. During the same years, he also wrote poetry books, Yasak Sevişmek and Bıçağın Ucu of the Aynanın İçindekiler series.
and he always took a nationalistic point of view within communism. He was also an intellectual
figure in Turkey
where his nationalist ideas influenced the public. In his series of books entitled Hangi …, he questioned the imitative intellectualism
which dominated the cultural and political life of Turkey.
, wife of the late Sadri Alışık
, himself a famous actor. Attilâ İlhan died of a heart-attack in İstanbul
. Attilâ İlhan was laid to rest at Aşiyan Asri Cemetery
.
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, novelist, essayist, journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and reviewer.
Early life
Attilâ İlhan was born in MenemenMenemen
Menemen is a district of İzmir Province in Turkey as well as the district's central town. The district extends on a fertile plain formed by the alluvial soil carried by the Gediz River...
in İzmir Province
Izmir Province
İzmir Province is a province of Turkey in western Anatolia on the Aegean coast, whose capital is the city of İzmir. On the west it is surrounded by the Aegean sea, and it encloses the Gulf of İzmir. Its area is 11,973 km.2, population 3.948.848 . The population was 3,370,866 in 2000...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. He received most of his primary education in İzmir
Izmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
. 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
Nazim Hikmet
Nâzım Hikmet Ran , commonly known as Nâzım Hikmet , was a Turkish poet, playwright, novelist and memoirist. He was acclaimed for the "lyrical flow of his statements"...
, a famous dissident communist Turkish 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.
Following a favourable court decision in 1941, he received permission to continue his education again and enrolled in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
Işık High School. During the last year of his high school education, his uncle sent one of his poems to CHP
Republican People's Party (Turkey)
The Republican People's Party is a centre-left Kemalist political party in Turkey. It is the oldest political party of Turkey and is currently Main Opposition in the Grand National Assembly. The Republican People's Party describes itself as "a modern social-democratic party, which is faithful to...
Poetry Competition without telling Attilâ. 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
Istanbul University
Istanbul University is a Turkish university located in Istanbul. The main campus is adjacent to Beyazıt Square.- Synopsis :A madrasa, a religious school, was established sometime in the 15th century after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople. An institution of higher education named the...
's law school
Law school
A law school is an institution specializing in legal education.- Law degrees :- Canada :...
. However, he left midway through his legal education to pursue his own endeavours and published his first poetry book, Duvar (The Wall).
Years in Paris
In his second year at Istanbul UniversityIstanbul University
Istanbul University is a Turkish university located in Istanbul. The main campus is adjacent to Beyazıt Square.- Synopsis :A madrasa, a religious school, was established sometime in the 15th century after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople. An institution of higher education named the...
, he went to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in order to take part in supporting Nazım Hikmet. His observations of the French and their culture were to influence many of his works.
After returning to Turkey, he repeatedly ran into trouble with the police. Interrogations in Sansaryan Han influenced his works based on death, thriller, etc.
Istanbul–Paris–İzmir triangle
He went back to Paris again in 1951 because of an official investigation about an article in Gerçek newspaper. In this period he learned to speak French and studied MarxistMarxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
philosophy. In the 1950s Attilâ İlhan spent his days along an İstanbul–Paris–İzmir triangle and during this period he started to become popular in Turkey. After returning to Turkey, he resumed studying law. However, in his last year at law school, he left university and took up a journalistic career. His relationship with the cinema also started in this year. He began writing movie reviews and critiques in Vatan newspaper.
Artistic versatility
After completing his military service in ErzurumErzurum
Erzurum is a city in Turkey. It is the largest city, the capital of Erzurum Province. The city is situated 1757 meters above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 361,235 in the 2000 census. .Erzurum, known as "The Rock" in NATO code, served as NATO's southeastern-most air force post during the...
in 1957, İlhan returned to İstanbul and concentrated on cinema. He wrote screenplays for nearly 15 movies under the nom de plume Ali Kaptanoğlu. However, cinema didn't meet his expectations and he went back to Paris in 1960. During this period, he analyzed the development of socialism and television. The unexpected death of his father caused him to return to his hometown of İzmir, where he would remain for the next eight years. During this period, he served as the editorial writer and editor-in-chief of the Democratic İzmir newspaper. During the same years, he also wrote poetry books, Yasak Sevişmek and Bıçağın Ucu of the Aynanın İçindekiler series.
Political views
In his later life he appeared on television programs where he discussed literary and social issues. Although he was a devoted communist, he never espoused StalinismStalinism
Stalinism refers to the ideology that Joseph Stalin conceived and implemented in the Soviet Union, and is generally considered a branch of Marxist–Leninist ideology but considered by some historians to be a significant deviation from this philosophy...
and he always took a nationalistic point of view within communism. He was also an intellectual
Intellectual
An intellectual is a person who uses intelligence and critical or analytical reasoning in either a professional or a personal capacity.- Terminology and endeavours :"Intellectual" can denote four types of persons:...
figure in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
where his nationalist ideas influenced the public. In his series of books entitled Hangi …, he questioned the imitative intellectualism
Intellectualism
Intellectualism denotes the use and development of the intellect, the practice of being an intellectual, and of holding intellectual pursuits in great regard. Moreover, in philosophy, “intellectualism” occasionally is synonymous with “rationalism”, i.e. knowledge derived mostly from reason and...
which dominated the cultural and political life of Turkey.
Death
He married in 1968 and remained so for 15 years. He was the brother of famous Turkish actress Çolpan İlhanÇolpan Ilhan
Çolpan İlhan is a Turkish cinema and theatre actress. She has been awarded the title of 'State artist of Turkey". She has acted in a total of more than 300 films and theatre plays....
, wife of the late Sadri Alışık
Sadri Alisik
Sadri Alışık, born Mehmet Sadrettin Alışık was a popular Turkish film actor.- Biography :...
, himself a famous actor. Attilâ İlhan died of a heart-attack in İstanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
. Attilâ İlhan was laid to rest at Aşiyan Asri Cemetery
Asiyan Asri Cemetery
The Aşiyan Asri Cemetery is a burial ground situated on Aşiyan between Bebek and Rumelihisarı neighborhoods on the European part of Istanbul, Turkey....
.
Poems
- Duvar (The Wall)
- Sisler Bulvarı
- Yağmur Kaçağı
- Ben Sana Mecburum
- Bela Çiçeği (Trouble Flower)
- Yasak Sevişmek
- Tutuklunun Günlüğü (A Prisoner's Diary)
- Böyle Bir Sevmek
- Elde Var Hüzün
- Korkunun Krallığı (Kingdom of Fear)
- Ayrılık Sevdaya Dahil
- Allende Allende
Novels
- Sokaktaki Adam
- Zenciler Birbirine Benzemez
- Kurtlar Sofrası
- Bıçağın Ucu
- Sırtlan Payı
- Yaraya Tuz Basmak
- Dersaadet'te Sabah Ezanları
- O Karanlıkta Biz
- Fena Halde Leman
- Haco Hanım Vay
- Allah'ın Süngüleri "Reis Paşa"
Essays
- Abbas Yolcu
- Yanlış Kadınlar Yanlış Erkekler
- Hangi Sol
- Hangi Sağ
- Hangi Batı
- Hangi Seks
- Hangi Atatürk
- Hangi Edebiyat
- Hangi Laiklik
- Hangi Küreselleşme
- Gerçekçilik Savaşı
- İkinci Yeni Savaşı
- Faşizmin Ayak Sesleri
- Batının Deli Gömleği
- Sağım Solum Sobe
- Ulusal Kültür Savaşı
- Sosyalizm Asıl Şimdi
- Aydınlar Savaşı
- Kadınlar Savaşı
- Bir Sap Kırmızı Karanfil
- Ufkun Arkasını Görebilmek
Translations
- "Kanton'da İsyan" (The Conquerors by André MalrauxAndré MalrauxAndré Malraux DSO was a French adventurer, award-winning author, and statesman. Having traveled extensively in Indochina and China, Malraux was noted especially for his novel entitled La Condition Humaine , which won the Prix Goncourt...
) - "Umut" (Man's Hope by André Malraux)
- "Basel'in Çanları" (The Bells of BaselBaselBasel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
by Louis AragonLouis AragonLouis Aragon , was a French poet, novelist and editor, a long-time member of the Communist Party and a member of the Académie Goncourt.- Early life :...
)