Reşat Nuri Güntekin () (25 November 1889 – 7 December 1956) was a Turkish

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others asp ...

, storywriter, and playwright. His best known novel, '' Çalıkuşu'' ("The Wren", 1922) is about the destiny of a young Turkish female teacher in

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...

. This work is translated into

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

by Seyyed Borhan Ghandili. His other significant novels include ''

Dudaktan Kalbe ''Dudaktan Kalbe'' ("From the Lips to the Heart") is a Turkish television series. It stars Burak Hakkı and Aslı Tandoğan. It is the fifth adaptation of Reşat Nuri Güntekin's famous novel, ''Dudaktan Kalbe''. He was one of the most popular wr ...

'' ("From the Lips to the Heart", 1925), and ''

Yaprak Dökümü ''Yaprak Dökümü'' (''The Fall of Leaves'') is a novel by Turkish author and playwright Reşat Nuri Güntekin, written in 1930. It is available in an English translation by W. D. Halsey Plot summary The novel revolves around a middle-class Tu ...

'' ("The Fall of Leaves", 1930). Many of his novels have been adapted to cinema and television. Because he visited Anatolia with his duty as an inspector, he knew Anatolian people closely. In his works he dealt with life and social problems in Anatolia; reflects people in the human-environment relationship.

Biography

His father was a medical doctor ''Doktor Nuri Bey''. Reşat Nuri attended primary school in

Çanakkale Çanakkale (pronounced ), ancient ''Dardanellia'' (), is a city and seaport in Turkey in Çanakkale province on the southern shore of the Dardanelles at their narrowest point. The population of the city is 195,439 (2021 estimate). Çanakkale is ...

, the Çanakkale Secondary School and the İzmir School of Freres. He graduated from Istanbul University, Faculty of Literature in 1912. He worked as a teacher and administrator at high schools in Bursa and Istanbul, he taught literature, French and philosophy; then he worked as an inspector at the Ministry of National Education (1931). He served as the deputy of

between 1933 and 1943 in the

Turkish Parliament The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( tr, ), usually referred to simply as the TBMM or Parliament ( tr, or ''Parlamento''), is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Consti ...

, the chief inspector at the Ministry of National Education (1947), and a cultural attaché to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

(1950), when he was also the Turkish representative to

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

. After his retirement, he served at the literary board of the Istanbul Municipal Theatres. Reşat Nuri Güntekin died in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, where he had gone to be treated for his

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign ...

. He is buried at the

Karacaahmet Cemetery The Karacaahmet Cemetery ( tr, Karacaahmet Mezarlığı) is a 700-year-old historic cemetery, located in Üsküdar, the Asian side of Istanbul. Karacaahmet cemetery is the oldest and largest in Istanbul at , and the largest burial ground in Turkey ...

in Istanbul.

Works

Stories

* ''Recm, Gençlik ve Güzellik'' (1919) * ''Roçild Bey'' (1919) * ''Eski Ahbab'' (Without known time) * ''Tanrı Misafiri'' (1927) * ''Sönmüş Yıldızlar'' (1928) * ''Leylâ ile Mecnun'' (1928) * ''Olağan İşler'' (1930)

Novels

* '' Çalıkuşu'' (1922) (''The Wren'' - translated as: "''The Autobiography of a Turkish Girl''") * ''Gizli El'' (1924) * ''Damga'' (1924) * ''Dudaktan Kalbe'' (1923) (''From the Lip to the Heart'') * ''Akşam Güneşi'' (1926) (''Afternoon Sun'') * ''Bir Kadın Düşmanı'' (1927) * '' Yeşil Gece'' (1928) (''The Green Night'') * ''Acımak'' (1928) (''To Pity'') * ''

'' (1930) (''The Fall of Leaves'') * ''Eski Hastalık'' (1938) (''That Old Sickness'') * ''Değirmen'' (1944) (''The Mill'') * ''Kızılcık Dalları'' (1944) * ''Miskinler Tekkesi'' (1946) * ''Harabelerin Çiçeği'' (1953) * ''Kavak Yelleri'' (1961) * ''Son Sığınak'' (1961) (''The Last Shelter'') * ''Kan Davası'' (1962) * ''Ateş Gecesi'' (1953) (''The Night of Fire'')

Theatre

* ''Hançer'' (1920) * ''Eski Rüya'' (1922) (''The Old Dream'') * ''Ümidin Güneşi'' (1924) (''Hope's Sun'') * ''Gazeteci Düşmanı'','' Şemsiye Hırsızı'' (''The Umbrella Thief''), ''İhtiyar Serseri'' (1925, three works) * ''Taş Parçası'' (1926) * ''Bir Köy Hocası'' (1928) * ''İstiklâl'' (1933) (''Independence'') * ''Hülleci'' (1933) * ''

'' (1971) * ''Eski Şarkı''(1971) (''The Old Song'') * ''Balıkesir Muhasebecisi'' (1971) (''The Accountant Of Balıkesir'') * ''Tanrıdağı Ziyafeti'' (1971)

References