Sevtap Baycılı is a Dutch writer of Turkish extraction. Born 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, ...

in 1968, she studied philosophy in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, earning the nickname "Miss Wittgenstein". She settled in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in 1991. Her first novel, ''De Markov-keten'' ("The Markov chain", 1998) is an exploration of the thoughts of a psychiatric patient, obviously influenced by

Becket ''Becket or The Honour of God'' (french: Becket ou l'honneur de Dieu) is a 1959 play written in French by Jean Anouilh. It is a depiction of the conflict between Thomas Becket and King Henry II of England leading to Becket's assassination in 117 ...

, and with a strong philosophical element. A second novel, ''De nachtmerrie van de allochtoon'' ("The foreigner's nightmare", 1999) is a satirical, often comical comment on Dutch expectations of the integration of foreigners. ''Donderpreken'' is non-fiction. Her journalistic work includes the interactive internet column ''Kip en ei zonder kop'' ("Chicken and egg without a head"), at Intermediair online. Three unpublished dramas go by the collective title of ''Reductio ad absurdum''. In English and Dutch sources, her surname is often written ''Baycili'', for want of the correct Turkish fonts.

References

*Graeme Dunphy, "Migrant, Emigrant, Immigrant: Recent Developments in Turkish-Dutch Literature", ''Neophilologus'', 85 (2001) 1-23. *Elma Nap-Kolhoff, ''Turkse auteurs in Nederland: verkenning van een onontgonnen gebied'', 2002.

References

See also