İhsan Oktay Anar (born 1960 in

Yozgat Yozgat is a city in the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey. It is the seat of Yozgat Province and Yozgat District.Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

), is a Turkish writer, illustrator, literature translator and an academic. He studied philosophy in

Ege University Ege University or Aegean University () is a public research university in Bornova, İzmir. It was founded in 1955 with the faculties of Medicine and Agriculture. It is the first university to start courses in İzmir and the fourth oldest unive ...

on undergraduate (1984), graduate (1989) and doctoral levels. Anar now teaches at the same university, lecturing in antique philosophy and

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

. In 2009, he won the Erdal Öz Literature Award "for his valuable novels and original style". Anar published his first novel, The Atlas of Misty Continents (''Puslu Kıtalar Atlası'') in 1995. The book was translated to a number of languages, including French, German and Hungarian, and a comic book version by caricaturist İlban Ertem was released in Spring of 2015. His novels are

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

pieces supported by historical facts and rumors especially related to the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

and a narration resembling fairy tales. He is known for well developed, various and original characters and providing a philosophical basis for his fantasy plots. Supernatural elements and references to folk literature and culture are commonly seen in his works. He uses a mixture of Ottoman and folk terminology within his Turkish writings, giving references to myths and historical scriptures. A trivial fact is that each of his books have a character named "Uzun İhsan" (meaning "Ihsan the Tall"), which is in fact a reference to himself. Anar is a tall and imposing figure, with a height over six feet four.

Works

;Novels: * Tiamat (''Tiamat'') (2022) * The Nasty Hero (''Galiz Kahraman'') (2014) * Seventh Day (''Yedinci Gün'') (2012) * Taciturns (''Suskunlar'') (2007) * Amat (''Amat'') (2005) * Tales of Afrasiab (''Efrasiyab`ın Hikayeleri'') (1998) - later adapted for stage * The Book of Devices (''Kitab-ül Hiyel'') (1996) * The Atlas of Misty Continents (''Puslu Kıtalar Atlası'') (1995) ;Illustrations for ''Kitab-ül Hiyel'': * has published articles in the former newspaper ''Yeni Binyıl'' * has published a story in the book ''1002 Gece Masalları'' ;Academic articles published in Turkish: * Anar, İ.O., ''Er Efsanesinin Muhtemel Kökenleri'', Seminar, 1993, P.30-44. * Anar, İ.O., ''Sokrates Sorunu'', Seminar. 1990. pp. 1–9.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anar, Ihsan Oktay Turkish non-fiction writers 21st-century Turkish philosophers Turkish writers Academic staff of Ege University 1960 births Living people