Mina Urgan (14 May 1916 – 15 June 2000) was a Turkish academic, translator, author and socialist politician.

Early life

Mina Urgan was born to poet Tahsin Nahit and his wife Şefika in

İstanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_in ...

on 14 May 1916. To another source, she was born on 1 May 1915. Her father died as she was three years old, and her mother made a second marriage with Falih Rıfkı Atay, a renowned journalist and writer. As the

Surname Law Surname law can refer to any law regulating the use of surnames. Canada From 1941 to 1978, the Government of Canada issued disc numbers to identify Inuit in their records. In the mid-1960s Project Surname began, and, headed by Abe Okpik, Inuit ...

was enacted in Turkey in 1934, her stepfather's close friend, the renowned author

Necip Fazıl Kısakürek Ahmet Necip Fazıl Kısakürek (May 26, 1904 – May 25, 1983) was a Turkish poet, novelist, playwright, and Islamist ideologue. He is also known simply by his initials NFK. He was noticed by the French philosopher Henri Bergson, who later ...

, suggested her the family name ''Urgan'' (literally "rope"), ironically stating that "it would match her because the socialist-minded young girl would be hanged one day anyway". She was schooled in

Lycée Notre Dame de Sion Istanbul Lycée Notre Dame de Sion Istanbul ( tr, Notre Dame de Sion Özel Fransız Lisesi) is a French private high school located in the Harbiye, Şişli neighbourhood of Istanbul, Turkey. It was founded in 1856. The high school was established in the O ...

, and finished the high school in the Arnavutköy Girls' College ( Robert College). She was inspired by her stepfather Atay and enjoyed to be in his circle of people of letters and artists. She was one of the first female skiers and swimmers in Turkey. She graduated from Istanbul University studying French Philology. After doctorate studies in English literature, she continued her post-doctoral studies in the same university's School of English Philology. In 1949, she became an associate professor with her thesis "

Harlequin Harlequin (; it, Arlecchino ; lmo, Arlechin, Bergamasque pronunciation ) is the best-known of the '' zanni'' or comic servant characters from the Italian '' commedia dell'arte'', associated with the city of Bergamo. The role is traditional ...

s in the era of

Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...

theater". She was appointed professor at the same faculty in 1960. She retired in 1977.

Writing career

She translated works of

Thomas Malory Sir Thomas Malory was an English writer, the author of ''Le Morte d'Arthur'', the classic English-language chronicle of the Arthurian legend, compiled and in most cases translated from French sources. The most popular version of ''Le Morte d'Ar ...

(c. 1415–18 – 1471),

Henry Fielding Henry Fielding (22 April 1707 – 8 October 1754) was an English novelist, irony writer, and dramatist known for earthy humour and satire. His comic novel ''Tom Jones'' is still widely appreciated. He and Samuel Richardson are seen as founders ...

(1707–1754),

Honoré de Balzac Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly , ; born Honoré Balzac;Jean-Louis Dega, La vie prodigieuse de Bernard-François Balssa, père d'Honoré de Balzac : Aux sources historiques de La Comédie humaine, Rodez, Subervie, 1998, 665 p. 20 May 179 ...

(1799–1850),

Aldous Huxley Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. He wrote nearly 50 books, both novels and non-fiction works, as well as wide-ranging essays, narratives, and poems. Born into the prominent Huxle ...

(1894–1963),

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...

(1904–1991),

William Golding Sir William Gerald Golding (19 September 1911 – 19 June 1993) was a British novelist, playwright, and poet. Best known for his debut novel ''Lord of the Flies'' (1954), he published another twelve volumes of fiction in his lifetime. In 1980 ...

(1911–1993), John Galsworthy (1867–1933) and

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

(1564–1616) into Turkish. Urgan gained fame with her autobiography ''Bir Dinozorun Anıları'' ("Memoirs of a Dinosaur"). The 1998 published book remained several weeks on the best seller list. Upon this success, she wrote another autobiography ''Bir Dinozorun Gezileri'' ("Travels of a Dinosaur"), which was published in 1999.

In politics

Urgan entered politics in 1960. She was one of the charter members of the

Workers Party of Turkey Workers' Party of Turkey (''Türkiye İşçi Partisi'') was a Turkish political party, founded the 13 February 1961. It became the first socialist party in Turkey to win representation in the national parliament. It was banned twice (after the mi ...

(TİP) and the

Freedom and Solidarity Party The Left Party ( tr, Sol Parti, often written as SOL Parti), is a secular, socialist political party in Turkey. The Party was founded after Freedom and Solidarity Party ( tr, Özgürlük ve Dayanışma Partisi - ÖDP) decided to change its name ...

(ÖDP). In the 1999 general elections, she ran for a seat in the parliament from the ÖDP. However, she did not reach her goal because her party failed to exceed the 10 percent threshold for parliamentary representation.

Private life

Urgan was married to poet and actor Cahit Irgat (1916–1971). The couple were divorced later. She was mother of a son Mustafa Irgat (1950–1995), a poet and painter, and a daughter Zeynep Irgat, an actress. She died at the age of 84 in Istanbul on 15 June 2000. She was interred at

Aşiyan Asri Cemetery The Aşiyan Asri Cemetery ( tr, Aşiyan Asri Mezarlığı) is a burial ground situated on Aşiyan between the Bebek, Istanbul, Bebek and Rumelihisarı neighborhoods of the European part of Istanbul, Turkey. Many renowned intellectuals, writers an ...

following a memorial ceremony at the Istanbul headquarters of ÖDP, where the anthem of the international socialism ''

The Internationale "The Internationale" (french: "L'Internationale", italic=no, ) is an international anthem used by various communist and socialist groups; currently, it serves as the official anthem of the Communist Party of China. It has been a standard of t ...

'' was played, a marching through the entire

İstiklal Avenue İstiklal Avenue ( tr, İstiklal Caddesi; en, "Independence Avenue"), historically known as the Grand Avenue of Pera (Ottoman Turkish: ''Cadde-i Kebir''; el, Μεγάλη Οδός του Πέραν, Megali Odos tu Peran; french: Grande Rue de ...

was performed, and the religious funeral at

Teşvikiye Mosque The Teşvikiye Mosque is a neo-baroque structure located in the Teşvikiye neighbourhood of Şişli district in Istanbul, Turkey. History The mosque was originally commissioned in 1794 by Sultan Selim III, but most of the current mosque that s ...

attended by renowned authors and artists.

Awards

She was honored with the "Golden Book Award" in 1993. For her work ''

Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer, considered one of the most important modernist 20th-century authors and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device. Woolf was born i ...

'', she received the "

Sedat Simavi Literature Award The Sedat Simavi Literature Prize is a Turkish literary award presented annually. It was established in 1977 by Sedat Simavi Foundation, in memory of author and journalist, Sedat Simavi. The prize is given also in nine different areas in sport, T ...

" in 1995, and the "Association of People of Letters Honor Award" in 1996.

Works

She translated the following books into Turkish: #

Herman Melville Herman Melville ( born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are ''Moby-Dick'' (1851); ''Typee'' (1846), a rom ...

: ''

Moby Dick ''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is the sailor Ishmael's narrative of the obsessive quest of Ahab, captain of the whaling ship ''Pequod'', for revenge against Moby Dick, the giant whi ...

'' #

Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VIII as Lord ...

: ''

Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book '' Utopia'', describing a fictional island societ ...

'' (co-translated with Vedat Günyol, Sabahattin Eyuboğlu) #

: ''Arthur'un Ölümü'' (" Death of Arthur") #

: '' Tom Jones'' #

: ''Meselenin Kalbi'' ("

The Heart of the Matter ''The Heart of the Matter'' (1948) is a novel by English author Graham Greene. The book details a life-changing moral crisis for Henry Scobie. Greene, a former British intelligence officer in Freetown, British Sierra Leone, drew on his expe ...

") #

: ''Ses Sese Karşı'' ("

Point Counter Point ''Point Counter Point'' is a novel by Aldous Huxley, first published in 1928. It is Huxley's longest novel, and was notably more complex and serious than his earlier fiction. In 1998, the Modern Library ranked ''Point Counter Point'' 44th on ...

") #

: ''Sineklerin Tanrısı'' ("

Lord of the Flies ''Lord of the Flies'' is a 1954 novel by the Nobel Prize-winning British author William Golding. The plot concerns a group of British boys who are stranded on an uninhabited island and their disastrous attempts to govern themselves. Themes ...

") #

Clive Bell Arthur Clive Heward Bell (16 September 1881 – 17 September 1964) was an English art critic, associated with formalism and the Bloomsbury Group. He developed the art theory known as significant form. Biography Origins Bell was born in East S ...

: ''Uygarlık'' ("Civilization") (co translated with

Melih Cevdet Anday Melih Cevdet Anday (13 March 1915 – 28 November 2002) was a Turkish writer whose poetry stands outside the traditional literary movements. He also wrote in many other genres which, over six and a half decades, included eleven collections of p ...

and Vedat Günyol) The following are her own books. (Mostly biography): #'' Macbeth'' (1965) #''Shakespeare ve Hamlet'' ("Shakespeare and

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

") (1984) #''İngiliz Edebiyatı Tarihi'' ("History of English Literature") (5 volumes, 1986–1993) #''

'' (1995) #''

D. H. Lawrence David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English writer, novelist, poet and essayist. His works reflect on modernity, industrialization, sexuality, emotional health, vitality, spontaneity and instinct. His best-k ...

'' (1997) #''Edebiyatta Ütopya kavramı ve

'' ("Concept of utopia in literature and Thomas More") #''Bir Dinazorun Anıları'' ("Memoirs of a Dinosaur", autobiography) (1998) #''Bir Dinazorun Gezileri'' ("Travels of a Dinosaur", autobiography) )1999)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Urgan, Mina Writers from Istanbul Politicians from Istanbul Lycée Notre Dame de Sion Istanbul alumni Robert College alumni Istanbul University alumni Academic staff of Istanbul University Turkish former Muslims Turkish atheists Turkish translators Turkish women academics Turkish women writers Turkish autobiographers 20th-century Turkish women politicians Turkish socialists 1916 births 2000 deaths Burials at Aşiyan Asri Cemetery 20th-century translators Women autobiographers