Murathan Mungan in Diyarbakir 2008 (cropped)

Murathan Mungan (born 21 April 1955 in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

) is a Turkish author, short story writer, playwright, and poet.

Biography

Mungan's family originates from

Mardin Mardin ( ku, Mêrdîn; ar, ماردين; syr, ܡܪܕܝܢ, Merdīn; hy, Մարդին) is a city in southeastern Turkey. The capital of Mardin Province, it is known for the Artuqid architecture of its old city, and for its strategic location on ...

. His father is an Arab and mother is a Bosniak. After receiving his BA from the Faculty of Letters and Drama at

Ankara University Ankara University ( tr, Ankara Üniversitesi) is a public university in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey. It was the first higher education institution founded in Turkey after the formation of the republic in 1923. The university has 40 vocat ...

, he worked as a

dramaturg A dramaturge or dramaturg is a literary adviser or editor in a theatre, opera, or film company who researches, selects, adapts, edits, and interprets scripts, libretti, texts, and printed programmes (or helps others with these tasks), consults auth ...

before devoting all his time to writing poetry, plays, short stories, novels, film scenarios, and songs. His first collection of poems, ''Osmanlıya Dair Hikayat'' (''Stories about Ottomans'') was published in 1980, making Mungan an overnight success. His output remained prolific and various poetry books followed, notably ''Yaz Gecer'' (''Summer Passes'') and ''Metal''. He has written four theatre plays, which earned him wider success. ''Mahmud ile Yezida'', ''Taziye'' are two of the most staged plays of the modern Turkish theatre. His short stories were compiled in successful volumes such as ''Kırk Oda'' ''(Forty Rooms)'' and ''Paranın Cinleri'' ''(Genies of Money)''. His screenplay ''Dağınık Yatak'' (Messy Bed) was later filmed by director

Atıf Yılmaz Atıf Yılmaz Batıbeki (9 December 1925 – 5 May 2006) was a renowned Turkey, Turkish film director, screenwriter, and film producer. He was very much a legend in the film industry of Turkey with 119 movies directed. He also wrote 53 screenp ...

in 1986 starring Turkish actress

Müjde Ar Kamile Suat Ebrem (born 21 June 1954), better known as Müjde Ar, is a Turkish film actress.

. Mungan also wrote lyrics to some of

Yeni Türkü Yeni Türkü (means ''New Türkü'' in Turkish) is a Turkish band. The group has held concerts and has recorded a number of albums since forming in 1978. Their musical style is characterized by a combination of traditional Turkish and modern musi ...

's songs, and for pop singers such as

Nükhet Duru Nükhet Duru (born 19 May 1954) is a Turkish singer. She started singing at Florya Deniz Club in Istanbul in 1971. She released her first 45 album “Aklımda Sen Fikrimde Sen – Karadır Kaşların” in 1974. It was followed by many singles lik ...

. In 2006, Murathan Mungan supervised the production of a music album by Turkish arabesk singer

Müslüm Gürses Müslüm Gürses (; 5 July 1953 – 3 March 2013), born Müslüm Akbaş and called Müslüm Baba (literally: ''Father'' ''Müslüm''), was a popular Turkish arabesque singer and actor. Personal life He was born on 7 May 1953 in an adobe hut in ...

, featuring

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s of popular songs such as "Alexandra Leaving" by

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...

, "

Mr. Tambourine Man "Mr. Tambourine Man" is a song written by Bob Dylan, released as the first track of the acoustic side of his March 1965 album '' Bringing It All Back Home''. The song's popularity led to Dylan recording it live many times, and it has been includ ...

" by

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

, and "

I'm Deranged "I'm Deranged" is a song written by David Bowie and Brian Eno in 1995 for the album '' Outside''. Musically and lyrically, it shares many themes with "Look Back in Anger" from '' Lodger'' (1979), including the appearance of an angel figure befo ...

" by

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

, all of which were selected by Mungan. Openly gay, Mungan has been often associated with the Turkish gay movement as a gay icon.

Discography

* ''

Söz Vermiş Şarkılar ''Söz Vermiş Şarkılar'' is a tribute album to Murathan Mungan Murathan Mungan (born 21 April 1955 in Istanbul) is a Turkish author, short story writer, playwright, and poet. Biography Mungan's family originates from Mardin. His fathe ...

'' (2004, tribute album) * ''Aşk Tesadüfleri Sever'' (2006, supervisor) * '' 2020 Model'' (2020, tribute album)

References

External links

*
Official Site

Portrait of Murathan Mungan

Murathan Mungan Biyografisi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mungan, Murathan 1955 births Writers from Istanbul Ankara University alumni Living people Gay poets Turkish gay writers Turkish novelists Turkish dramatists and playwrights Turkish Arab people Turkish LGBT poets Turkish LGBT novelists Turkish male writers Gay novelists Gay dramatists and playwrights Turkish male short story writers Turkish male poets 20th-century Turkish poets 20th-century novelists 20th-century dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Turkish poets 21st-century novelists 21st-century dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Turkish short story writers 21st-century short story writers 20th-century Turkish male writers 21st-century Turkish male writers