Çetin Altan
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Çetin Altan (22 June 1927 – 22 October 2015) was a Turkish writer, journalist, and a member of parliament. He was considered one of the finest writers in the modern Turkish language of the late 20th century.


Early years

Çetin Altan was born on 22 June 1927 to lawyer Halit Bey of Crimean Tatar descent and his wife Nurhayat. Until age seven, he was called Altan. With the adoption of the Surname Law in Turkey in 1934, the family chose the name Altan as their surname, and the son was renamed Çetin. At age eight, he was schooled in the elite
Galatasaray High School Galatasaray High School (, ), established in Istanbul in 1481, is the oldest and Selective school, highly selective high school in Turkey. It is also the second-oldest Turkish educational institution after Istanbul University, which was establi ...
as a boarding pupil, where he suffered from loneliness. After graduating from the high school, he received a degree from the Ankara University, Law School. He chose a writing career instead of pursuing a diplomatic career contrary to his father's will as he related once in an interview "to escape the loneliness".


Family life

Çetin Altan grew up in the family mansion at Göztepe, Istanbul. He married Kerime, whom he met at Radio Ankara, where she worked as the director secretary of his father. She was brought to
Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...
from Iraq by her sister's husband, an Ottoman officer, along with her mother and sister when she was only forty days old. Kerime Altan gave birth to two sons, Ahmet in 1950, Mehmet in 1953 and a daughter, Zeynep. She died in 1991. The Altan family believed that Kerime was of Arab descent. Following her death, they learnt that she was a relative of Iraqi Kurdish politician Fuad Masum. In 1996 at age 69, Çetin Altan made his second marriage with 41-year old Solmaz Kamuran, who also had a marriage before. They had known each other for a long time. Solmaz Kamuran was a dentist before she began editing Çetin's writings. In the final months of Altan's life, the couple separated.


Writing career

He published his poems and stories in such magazines as ''Çınaraltı'', '' Varlık'', ''İstanbul'' and ''Kaynak''. His first book ''Üçüncü Mevki'' was published in 1946. He entered journalism as a reporter in the newspaper '' Ulus''. After writing columns in ''Hürses'', Altan continued as a columnist in various newspapers including ''Halkçı'', ''Tan'', '' Akşam'', ''
Milliyet ''Milliyet'' ( Turkish for "''nationality''") is a daily newspaper published in Istanbul, Turkey. History and profile ''Milliyet'' came to publishing life at the Nuri Akça press in Babıali, Istanbul as a daily private newspaper on 3 May 1950 ...
'', ''Yeni Ortam'', ''
Hürriyet ''Hürriyet'' (, ''Liberty'') is a major List of newspapers in Turkey, Turkish newspaper, founded in 1948. it had the highest circulation of any newspaper in Turkey at around 319,000. ''Hürriyet'' combines entertainment with news coverage and ...
'', '' Güneş'' and the magazine ''Çarşaf''. In 1959, Altan accepted the offer of
Abdi İpekçi Abdi İpekçi (9 August 1929 – 1 February 1979) was a Turkish journalist, intellectual and human rights activist. He was murdered when he was editor-in-chief of one of the main Turkish daily newspapers '' Milliyet'' which then had a cent ...
(1929–1979) to write columns for the daily ''
Milliyet ''Milliyet'' ( Turkish for "''nationality''") is a daily newspaper published in Istanbul, Turkey. History and profile ''Milliyet'' came to publishing life at the Nuri Akça press in Babıali, Istanbul as a daily private newspaper on 3 May 1950 ...
'' replacing Peyami Safa (1899-1961). He was very much dismayed over the death of the university student Turan Emeksiz, who was killed by a police bullet during a student demonstration at the end of April 1960 against the ruling Democrat Party.


Politics

Altan entered politics after the 1960 Turkish coup d'état, and was elected to the
parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
from the Workers Party of Turkey (, TİP) following the 1965 general election. He served until 1969 as a deputy of Istanbul Province. He wrote his deputy years at his book, namely, 'When I was Deputy' (). To get more information about his deputy years and Turkey's politicians' visions, his book is very nice reference. Known for his sharp tongue, he once said to the parliament's deputy speaker disrespecting him with the phrase "Your seat is higher than mine due to a carpentry error!". Following the deputy speaker's warning to recant, he replied "It is not a carpentry error that you sit higher than me!". On the 20 February 1968, after having called Nazim Hikmet a “great poet“, he was physically attacked and beaten in parliament by more than hundred MPs of the Justice Party (AP) He has been prosecuted more than 300 times because of his articles. Altan has been arrested three times and served two years in prison.


Works

He published several novels and collections of essays, dealing with and criticizing the social and political situation of Turkey as well as the problems of contemporary Turkish society and culture in the second half of the 20th century from a socialistic/culturally liberal perspective. Many of his novels and essays contain autobiographical elements connected with his own political and personal struggles. Altan's writings in the 1960s and 1970s were published in his books ''Taş'' ("Satire", lit. 'Stone'), ''Sömürücülerle Savaş'' ("Struggle against the Exploiters"), ''Suçlanan Yazılar'' ("Accused Writings"), ''"Kahrolsun Komünizm" Diye Diye Globalleşme'' ("Globalization Saying 'Down with Communism'"), ''Onlar Uyanırken'' ("While They Awaken"), ''Kopuk Kopuk'' ("Broken off"), ''‘Geçip Giderken'' ("While Going by"), ''Gölgelerin Gölgesi'' ("Shadow of Shadows"), ''Şeytanın Aynaları'' ("Mirrors of the Devil"), ''Bir Yumak İnsan'' ("A Group of People") and ''Nar Çekirdekleri'' ("Pomegranate Seeds"). He wrote his novel ''Büyük Gözaltı'' ("The Great Detention") in 1972, which narrates his experience in the prison following the 1971 Turkish coup d'état and is considered as the first of its sort relating to the period. It brought to Altan the '' Orhan Kemal Novel Award'' in 1973. In addition to his numerous writings and books, Çetin Altan also wrote theatre plays such as ''Çemberler'' ("Circles"), ''Mor Defter'' ("The Purple Notebook"), ''Suçlular'' ("The Convicted") in 1965, ''Dilekçe'' ("The Petition") and ''Tahteravalli'' ("The Seesaw"). Furthermore, he has two essays, ''Aşk, Sanat ve Servet'' ("Love, Art and Wealth") and ''Atatürk’ün Sosyal Görüşleri'' ("The Social Views of Atatürk") in 1965, as well as a humor book, ''Zurnada Peşrev Olmaz'' ("There is No Prelude in the Clarion"). He wrote also books of travel, autobiography, poetry and even an alphabet book. His life story was portrayed in the novel ''İpek Böceği Cinayeti'' ("The Silkworm Murder") by his author wife Solmaz Kamuran in 1998. His novels ''Büyük Gözaltı'' ("Etroite surveillance"), ''Bir Avuç Gökyüzüir'' ("Une poignée de ciel"), ''Viski'' ("Whisky") and ''Zurnada Peşrev Olmaz Küçük Bahçe'' ("Ixe enseveli ou le Petit jardin") were also translated into French and published in France.


Death

Çetin Altan was taken to the hospital of the Fatih University Medicine Faculty at Maltepe, Istanbul in September 2015, where he was treated after being diagnosed with multiple health problems including
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a type of progressive lung disease characterized by chronic respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation. GOLD defines COPD as a heterogeneous lung condition characterized by chronic respiratory s ...
(COPD),
respiratory failure Respiratory failure results from inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, meaning that the arterial oxygen, carbon dioxide, or both cannot be kept at normal levels. A drop in the oxygen carried in the blood is known as hypoxemia; a r ...
,
bronchiectasis Bronchiectasis is a disease in which there is permanent enlargement of parts of the bronchi, airways of the lung. Symptoms typically include a chronic cough with sputum, mucus production. Other symptoms include shortness of breath, hemoptysis, co ...
,
pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...
,
urinary tract infection A urinary tract infection (UTI) is an infection that affects a part of the urinary tract. Lower urinary tract infections may involve the bladder (cystitis) or urethra (urethritis) while upper urinary tract infections affect the kidney (pyel ...
and
sepsis Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage of sepsis is followed by suppression of the immune system. Common signs and s ...
. On 19 October Altan was hospitalized again due to a urinary tract infection. He died on 22 October 2015 at 11:05 hours local time at age 88 due to respiratory failure as a result of pneumonia and
septic shock Septic shock is a potentially fatal medical condition that occurs when sepsis, which is organ injury or damage in response to infection, leads to dangerously low blood pressure and abnormalities in cellular metabolism. The Third International C ...
. He was interred at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery on 23 October 2015, following a memorial ceremony before the building of Millyet newspaper and the consequent religious funeral service at
TeÅŸvikiye Mosque The TeÅŸvikiye Mosque () is a neo-baroque structure located in the TeÅŸvikiye neighbourhood of ÅžiÅŸli district in Istanbul, Turkey. History The mosque was originally commissioned in 1794 by Sultan Selim III, but most of the current mosque t ...
. He is survived by his sons Mehmet Altan, Ahmet Altan, daughter Zeynep Nurhayat Altan and granddaughter Sanem Altan.


Books

;In Turkish * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ;In French * * * *


References

* Biyografi.net
''Biography of Çetin Altan''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Altan, Cetin 1927 births Turkish people of Crimean Tatar descent Galatasaray High School alumni Ankara University Faculty of Law alumni Writers from Istanbul Turkish former Sunni Muslims Turkish atheists Turkish columnists Turkish satirists Ulus (newspaper) people Akşam people Milliyet people Hürriyet people Güneş (newspaper) people Deputies of Istanbul Workers' Party of Turkey politicians 2015 deaths Burials at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery