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Orhan Veli Kanık or Orhan Veli (14 April 1914 – 14 November 1950) was a Turkish
poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...
. Kanık is one of the founders of the Garip Movement together with Oktay Rıfat and Melih Cevdet. Aiming to fundamentally transform traditional form in Turkish poetry, he introduced colloquialisms into the poetic language. Besides his poetry Kanık crammed an impressive volume of works including essays, articles and translations into 36 short years. Orhan Veli shunned everything old in order to be able to bring about a new 'taste', refusing to use
syllable A syllable is a unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds typically made up of a syllable nucleus (most often a vowel) with optional initial and final margins (typically, consonants). Syllables are often considered the phonological ...
and aruz meters. He professed to regarding the rhyme primitive, literary rhetoric techniques such as
metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wi ...
,
simile A simile () is a figure of speech that directly ''compares'' two things. Similes differ from other metaphors by highlighting the similarities between two things using comparison words such as "like", "as", "so", or "than", while other metaphors c ...
,
hyperbole Hyperbole (; adj. hyperbolic ) is the use of exaggeration as a rhetorical device or figure of speech. In rhetoric, it is also sometimes known as auxesis (literally 'growth'). In poetry and oratory, it emphasizes, evokes strong feelings, and ...
unnecessary. Set out "to do away with all tradition, everything that bygone literatures taught", although this desire of Kanık limits the technical possibilities in his poetry, the poet broke new grounds for himself with the themes and personalities he covered and the vocabulary he employed. He brought the poetic language closer to the spoken language by adopting a plain phraseology. In 1941 his poems embodying these ideas were published in a poetry volume named '' Garip'', released jointly with his friends Oktay Rıfat and Melih Cevdet, which led to the emergence of the Garip movement. This movement had a huge influence especially between the years 1945-1950 on Republican era Turkish verse. The ''Garip'' poetry is accepted as a touchstone in Turkish verse for its both destructive and constructive effects. At first Kanık mostly was found peculiar, he was criticized harshly, and heaped upon much opprobrium because of the innovations he introduced to poetry. Although Orhan Veli's tradition-transgressing works were first received with bemusement and dismay, and were subject to derision and contempt later, they have always aroused interest. This interest however, eventually led to an increase in understanding of, and affection and admiration for the poet. Sait Faik Abasıyanık called attention to this aspect of Orhan Veli's public standing identifying him as "a poet who was much scrutinized, at times mocked, at times embraced, then again rejected, to be once again acclaimed; who achieved both great fame and notoriety in his time". Although he stands out with his Garip period poems, Orhan Veli had eschewed writing poetry of a "single type". Kanık had been renewing himself and searching without cease throughout his career in literature, a long adventure of poetry in a short life, that consists of different stages. Oktay Rıfat has explained this by saying: "Orhan lived in his very short lifetime an adventure in poetry equal to a few generations of French poets. Turkish poetry became head to head with European poetry thanks to his pen.", and "A transformation which several generations back to back could maybe achieve, he completed in a few years."


Life


Childhood and education

Orhan Veli Kanık was born at number 9 Çayır Alley on the İshak Ağa Climb in Yalıköy
Beykoz Beykoz (), also known as Beicos and Beikos, is a district in Istanbul, Turkey at the northern end of the Bosphorus on the Anatolian side. The name is believed to be a combination of the words bey and ''kos'', which means "village" in Farsi. Bey ...
, on 14 April 1914. His father, Mehmet Veli, was the son of Fehmi Bey, a merchant from
İzmir İzmir ( , ; ), also spelled Izmir, is a metropolitan city in the western extremity of Anatolia, capital of the province of the same name. It is the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara and the second largest urban agg ...
, while his mother was Fatma Nigar, Hacı Ahmet Bey's daughter from
Beykoz Beykoz (), also known as Beicos and Beikos, is a district in Istanbul, Turkey at the northern end of the Bosphorus on the Anatolian side. The name is believed to be a combination of the words bey and ''kos'', which means "village" in Farsi. Bey ...
. According to the population registry, his birth name is Ahmet Orhan, but he came to be known as Orhan Veli after his father before a
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, Inui ...
was enacted in
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
. His father, Veli Kanık was a
clarinetist This article lists notable musicians who have played the clarinet. Classical clarinetists * Laver Bariu * Ernest Ačkun * Luís Afonso * Cristiano Alves * Michel Arrignon * Dimitri Ashkenazy * Kinan Azmeh * Alexander Bader * Carl Bae ...
in the Imperial Military Band at the time of his marriage. He became a conductor when the band moved to Ankara to become the
Presidential Symphony Orchestra The Presidential Symphony Orchestra ( tr, Cumhurbaşkanlığı Senfoni Orkestrası), with headquarters in Ankara, is the presidential symphony orchestra of the Republic of Turkey. Its history dates back as far as 1826, making it one of the first s ...
after the declaration of
Republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
in
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
. Because of this new position, as well as that of a professor of harmony in Music Teachers' School (later Ankara State Conservatory) he lived in
Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, mak ...
between the years 1923–1948. Veli Bey also served for a while as a director at
Ankara Radio Ankara Radio ( tr, Ankara Radyosu) is a nationwide radio network broadcasting from Ankara. Its first broadcast was on 6 November 1927, by a 5 kW longwave AM transmitter over 1554 meters. See also * Radyo 2 Radyo 2, also known as TRT FM, i ...
during this period. Later on he moved to Istanbul Conservatory to serve as a member of its scientific board, and he also worked as an audio specialist in İstanbul Radio. Orhan Veli had two younger siblings: journalist Adnan Veli Kanık of Vatan Newspaper and Füruzan Yolyapan. It appears the poet also had a baby sister named Ayşe Zerrin who died in Ankara at the age of one. Orhan Veli spent his childhood years in
Beykoz Beykoz (), also known as Beicos and Beikos, is a district in Istanbul, Turkey at the northern end of the Bosphorus on the Anatolian side. The name is believed to be a combination of the words bey and ''kos'', which means "village" in Farsi. Bey ...
,
Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul, Turkey, located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and Şişli, on the west by Kağıthane and Şişli, on the south by Beyoğlu, a ...
and Cihangir. He started at the kindergarten class of Anafartalar Elementary School in Akaretler during the days of
Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...
. After a year however, he was enrolled as a boarding student in
Galatasaray High School Galatasaray High School ( tr, Galatasaray Lisesi, french: Lycée de Galatasaray), established in what was then Constantinople and is now Istanbul, in 1481, is the oldest high school in Turkey. It is also the second-oldest Turkish educational ...
. He was circumcised at a mass ceremony organized by Caliph Abdülmecit in the
Yıldız Palace Yıldız Palace ( tr, Yıldız Sarayı, ) is a vast complex of former imperial Ottoman pavilions and villas in Istanbul, Turkey, built in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was used as a residence by the sultan and his court in the late 19th ...
when was seven. In 1925 after completing fourth grade he left Galatasaray High School to move with his mother to Ankara on his father's wish. There he was enrolled in the Gazi Elementary School. After a year he moved to Ankara High School for Boys as a boarder. Kanık suffered several health problems in his childhood. At five he was badly burnt and had to receive treatment for a prolonged period. He contracted measles at nine, and scarlet fever when he was seventeen years old. Kanık's interest in literature began in elementary school years. A story of his was published in the magazine "Çocuk Dünyası" (Child's World) at this time. He met his lifelong friend Oktay Rıfat Horozcu in seventh grade. He would make friends 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 ...
a few years later, at a student show in a
Community Center Community centres, community centers, or community halls are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole co ...
. In Kanık's first year of high school Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar was his teacher and an early mentor providing advice and guidance. The poet published a magazine named "Sesimiz" (Our Voice) with his friends Oktay Rıfat and Melih Cevdet during his high school years. This stage in the artist's life was when he learned and gained an appreciation of the rules and harmony of the traditional aruz meter, and wrote his first poems. He also exhibited an interest in theater while in high school. He had parts in several public performances, in the play "Aktör Kin" starring Raşit Rıza, as "Üstad-ı Sanî" in Ahmet Vefik Paşa's Moliere adaptation "Zor Nikâh" (Le Mariage forcé) staged by Ercüment Behzat Lav in the Ankara Community Center, and as the "father" in
Maurice Maeterlinck Maurice Polydore Marie Bernard Maeterlinck (29 August 1862 – 6 May 1949), also known as Count (or Comte) Maeterlinck from 1932, was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who was Flemish but wrote in French. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in ...
's "Monna Vanna". Kanık would keep up his involvement in theater in later years as a translator, translating many plays into Turkish. The poet graduated from high school in 1932. He was enrolled in the philosophy chair of
Istanbul University , image = Istanbul_University_logo.svg , image_size = 200px , latin_name = Universitas Istanbulensis , motto = tr, Tarihten Geleceğe Bilim Köprüsü , mottoeng = Science Bridge from Past to the Future , established = 1453 1846 1933 ...
's Department of Literature. In 1933 he was elected the president of the Department of Literature Students' Association. He dropped out of the university in 1935 without obtaining his degree. He continued with his teacher's assistant position at the Galatasaray High School for another year after dropping out of college.


Later life and literary career

Kanık moved to Ankara and was hired at Telegraph Department International Orders Bureau of the PTT, the Turkish national mail and telegraph service. He got together with his old friend Oktay Rıfat and Melih Cevdet, and the trio began writing poetry in a similar style. In 1936 Orhan Veli's poems "Oaristys", "Ebabil", "Eldorado", "Düşüncelerimin Başucunda" were published in the " Varlık" magazine upon Nahid Sırrı Örik's suggestion. In the magazine Orhan Veli and his friends were introduced with these words: "Varlık is boosting its cadre of poets with new and powerful young pens. Orhan Veli, whose four poems you may read below, manifests a mature art even though he has never been published before. In our future issues he will bespeak better the new breath he and his friends Oktay Rıfat, Melih Cedet and Mehmet Ali Sel are bringing to our poetry." These first poems were followed by others, some of which were published under the alias Mehmet Ali Sel. Between 1936 and 1942 his poetry and essays were published in the magazines "İnsan", "Ses", "Gençlik", "Küllük", "İnkılâpçı Gençlik" as well as Varlık. Because of the form, structure and content of his works from the early days of this period, he was seen as a
syllabic verse Syllabic verse is a poetic form having a fixed or constrained number of syllables per line, while stress, quantity, or tone play a distinctly secondary role — or no role at all — in the verse structure. It is common in languages that are syllab ...
poet. After 1937 however, Kanık, like Horozcu and Anday, began publishing new style poems. In 1939 Orhan Veli was in a car accident with his friend Melih Cevdet, as a result of which he was in a coma for twenty days. Melih Cevdet was driving the car they were in when it rolled off the top of Çubuk Dam. In May 1942 the Garip collection was published. This volume included 24 poems from Orhan Veli, along with 16 by Melih Cevdet and 20 by Oktay Rıfat. Orhan Veli had also penned the sensational introduction of the volume. Garip marks the beginning of the Garip movement, also known as the "Birinci Yeni" (the First New). Kanık, Horozcu and Anday were adopting a radical stance rejecting both the syllabist tradition and Ahmet Haşim's poetry that preceded them, and
Nazım Hikmet A nazim is the coordinator of a city or town in Pakistan. Nazim or variant spellings may also refer to: * Nazim (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Nazim (surname), including a list of people with the surname See also ...
's social-realist verse. The poetry and the introduction of the Garip volume caused controversy in the Turkish literary world. A specific line by Orhan Veli became a focus of dispute:
Yazık oldu Süleyman Efendi'ye
. Some denounced it, and there were also some charges of plagiarism, yet on the other hand a number of critics found it to be one of the most eloquently written lines in Turkish. All the surrounding debate popularized the line to the point that, according to Nurullah Ataç, "it was in all the ferries, trams, coffeehouses", indeed becoming an idiomatic expression. Another line by the poet that has been at least as popular in daily language is "Bir de rakı şişesinde balık olsam" (..one more thing, would that I were a fish in a bottle of
rakı Rakı or raki (, Turkish pronunciation: ) is an alcoholic drink made of twice-distilled grapes. It is the national drink of Turkey. It is also popular in other Balkan countries as an apéritif as well as in Kazakhstan. It is often served with ...
), which Orhan Veli had written specifically to satirize Ahmet Haşim's famous line "Göllerde bu dem bir kamış olsam (Would that in this moment I were a cane of reed in the lakes)". He left PTT in 1942 for his mandatory military service. He served until 1945 in Kavakköy in
Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...
. During this time only six poems of his were published. He was discharged in 1945 as a lieutenant and started working in the Translations Department of the
Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pu ...
. His translations from French were published in the Classics series of the Ministry. He published a volume of poetry titled " Vazgeçemediğim" in February 1945, and a second edition of Garip containing only his poetry in April. These were followed by " Destan Gibi" in 1946 and " Yenisi" in 1947. With the departure of Hasan Âli Yücel as the minister of education following the 1946 elections, the Translations Office he had founded lost its prominence in the ministry. Kanık resigned shortly after. In later years he would point to the discomfort of the oppressive atmosphere that had taken over the ministry with the incoming minister Reşat Şemsettin Sirer as the reason for his resignation. He started writing essays and reviews in the newspapers "Hür" and "Zincirli Hürriyet" published by Mehmet Ali Aybar. In 1948 he translated
La Fontaine Jean de La Fontaine (, , ; 8 July 162113 April 1695) was a French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his '' Fables'', which provided a model for subsequent fabulists across Eu ...
's tales into Turkish and published his "Yolcu Notları" in the "Ulus" newspaper. Gatherings with friends such as Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu, Abidin Dino, Necati Cumalı, Sabahattin Eyüboğlu, Oktay Rıfat and Melih Cevdet, who had all found themselves in a similar situation after the changes in the Ministry of Education, led to the idea of bringing out a new magazine together at the end of 1948. Financially supported by Mahmut Dikerdem the literary magazine Yaprak was a biweekly. Orhan Veli was the publisher and the editor in chief, which got him deeply involved with the financial health of the publication, at one point even causing him to sell his coat to cover costs. He had had to sell the paintings given to him as gifts by Abidin Dino to pay for bringing out the very last issue. Yaprak's first issue came out on 1 January 1949, and it was continued for 28 issues in total until June 1950, bringing to public works by many writers and poets including Cahit Sıtkı Tarancı, Sait Faik Abasıyanık, Fazıl Hüsnü Dağlarca, Cahit Külebi. In Yaprak Orhan Veli's intellectual and opinion leader aspects besides his position as a poet also came to light. He opinionated on the upcoming elections in the magazine. Socially conscious poetry by Oktay Rıfat and Melih Cevdet were published. In the same time period Orhan Veli, Oktay Rıfat and Melih Cevdet campaigned for
Nazım Hikmet A nazim is the coordinator of a city or town in Pakistan. Nazim or variant spellings may also refer to: * Nazim (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Nazim (surname), including a list of people with the surname See also ...
's release from prison, holding a three-day
hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Mos ...
. During 1949 Orhan Veli adapted Nasreddin Hoca tales into verse, published his last volume of poetry " Karşı" and co-translated
Charles Lamb Charles Lamb (10 February 1775 – 27 December 1834) was an English essayist, poet, and antiquarian, best known for his '' Essays of Elia'' and for the children's book '' Tales from Shakespeare'', co-authored with his sister, Mary Lamb (1764– ...
adaptations of
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 ...
's "
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 depic ...
" and "
the Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock. Although classified as ...
" into Turkish with Şehbal Erdeniz.


Death

After Yaprak was shuttered Kanık moved back to Istanbul. He was visiting Ankara for a couple of weeks when on 10 November 1950 he fell down a hole in the street dug by the municipality works, hurt seemingly lightly. He returned to Istanbul two days later. On 14 November he felt sick while having lunch at a friend's house and was admitted to hospital. He was misdiagnosed and treated for alcohol poisoning, slipping into a coma at 20:00 the same evening. He died of a
brain aneurysm An intracranial aneurysm, also known as a brain aneurysm, is a cerebrovascular disorder in which weakness in the wall of a cerebral artery or vein causes a localized dilation or ballooning of the blood vessel. Aneurysms in the posterior circ ...
at 23:30 in Cerrahpaşa Hospital, Istanbul. For the 38th anniversary of his death a sculpture of him was inaugurated in Aşiyan Asri Cemetery where he is buried. In 1998 two more sculptures were made featuring him, this time in Vişnezade. He is featured in Gürdal Duyars ''Şairler Sofası'' which was erected in a park of the same name. The sculpture features him in a composition that also includes 6 other famous Turkish poets. In the same park Namık Denizhans sculpture of Orhan Veli was also erected.


Works

*''Garip'' (Together with Oktay Rifat and Melih Cevdet, 1941) *''Garip'' (1945) *''Vazgeçemediğim'' (1945) *''Destan Gibi'' (1946) *''Yenisi'' (1947) *''Karşı'' (1949) *''Collected Poems'' (1951, 1975)


Translations

''Güneş/Sol'', Leonardo da Fonseca (trad.),
(n.t.) Revista Literária em Tradução
', nº 2 (mar/2011), Fpolis/Brasil, ISSN 2177-5141


References

Translation from the corresponding article in th
Turkish Wikipedia


External links



— a website with many of Orhan Veli's poems, as translated by
Talat Sait Halman Talat or Talaat may refer to: People * Talat (given name), includes Tallat *Mehmet Ali Talat Mehmet Ali Talat (born 6 July 1952) is a Turkish Cypriot politician who served as the president of Northern Cyprus from 2005 to 2010. Talat was the l ...

''Poems By Orhan Veli''
— a website with Orhan Veli's poems, as translated by Murat Nemet Nejat
''Official Web Site''
— official web site of Orhan Veli Kanık {{DEFAULTSORT:Kanik, Orhan Veli 1914 births 1950 deaths People from Beykoz Darülfünun alumni Turkish poets Turkish satirists Burials at Aşiyan Asri Cemetery 20th-century poets Deaths from intracranial aneurysm