Alev Alatlı (16 September 1944 – 2 February 2024) was a Turkish columnist, bestselling novelist, academician and economist.

Early years

Alev Alatlı was born on 16 September 1944 in the town of

Menemen Menemen () is a municipality and district of İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 573 km2, and its population is 200,904 (2022). The district extends on a fertile plain formed by the alluvial soil carried by the Gediz River. Adjacent distric ...

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

to an officer's family. She spent her childhood in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, where her father was appointed as the

Military attaché A military attaché or defence attaché (DA),Defence Attachés
''Geneva C ...

in the Embassy of Turkey and also as the Liaison officer of the Turkish Brigade in Korea to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

. Alatlı attended the

American School in Japan The American School in Japan (ASIJ; ) is an international private day school located in the city of Chōfu, Tokyo, Japan. The school consists of an elementary school, a middle school, and a high school, all located on the Chōfu campus. There ...

in Nakameguro, Tokyo. After finishing high school there, her family returned to Turkey, and Alev studied economics at the

Middle East Technical University Middle East Technical University (commonly referred to as METU; in Turkish language, Turkish, ''Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi'', ODTÜ) is a prestigious public university, public Institute of technology, technical university located in Ankara, ...

in Ankara, from where she graduated in 1963 with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree. Following graduation, she married her classmate Alper Orhon, a

Turkish Cypriot Turkish Cypriots or Cypriot Turks ( or ; ) are so called ethnic Turks originating from Cyprus. Turkish Cypriots are mainly Sunni Muslims. Following the Ottoman conquest of the island in 1571, about 30,000 Turkish settlers were given land onc ...

. She was granted a

Fulbright Scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

and her husband a scholarship from the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

to conduct postgraduate study in the USA. Educated at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

in Nashville, Tennessee, she earned a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in Development Economics and Econometrics. By this time, she had started to think about the importance of formulas and figures in explaining the world, and decided to pursue studies in philosophy. Although she enrolled at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

in New Hampshire for doctoral studies on

philosophy of religion Philosophy of religion is "the philosophical examination of the central themes and concepts involved in religious traditions". Philosophical discussions on such topics date from ancient times, and appear in the earliest known Text (literary theo ...

and

philosophy of history Philosophy of history is the philosophy, philosophical study of history and its academic discipline, discipline. The term was coined by the French philosopher Voltaire. In contemporary philosophy a distinction has developed between the ''specul ...

she didn't have a Ph.D. degree. In 1974, Alatlı returned to Turkey. She worked for a while as a lecturer at

Istanbul University Istanbul University, also known as University of Istanbul (), is a Public university, public research university located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded by Mehmed II on May 30, 1453, a day after Fall of Constantinople, the conquest of Constantinop ...

and later at the State Planning Organization (DPT) in Ankara in her capacity as an economist. In the next five years after her return from the US, Alev Alatlı spent her time mainly in studying Islam. She was also involved in a

psycholinguistic Psycholinguistics or psychology of language is the study of the interrelation between linguistic factors and psychological aspects. The discipline is mainly concerned with the mechanisms by which language is processed and represented in the mind ...

project of the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

on language learning patterns of Turkish children. She published a magazine titled "''Bizim İngilizce''" ) in co-operation with the newspaper ''

Cumhuriyet ''Cumhuriyet'' (; English: "Republic") is the oldest up-market Turkish daily newspaper. It has been described as "the most important independent public interest newspaper in contemporary Turkey". The newspaper was awarded the ''Freedom of Press ...

'' for Turks based on native tongue and culture.

Career

In 1982, Alatlı quit her other activities to stay at home and to devote herself to writing. Her first book titled "''Aydın Despotizmi...''" (''Despotism of the Intellectuals...'') was a philosophical study. Alatlı's next work and first novel "''Yaseminler Tüter mi Hala?''" (''Are Jasmines Still Smoking?'') appeared in 1985. It was inspired by the true story of a

Greek Cypriot Greek Cypriots (, ) are the ethnic Greek population of Cyprus, forming the island's largest ethnolinguistic community. According to the 2023 census, 719,252 respondents recorded their ethnicity as Greek, forming almost 99% of the 737,196 Cypri ...

woman. Born and christened at the Apostolos Andreas Monastery on the

Karpas Peninsula The Karpas Peninsula (; ), also known as the Karpass, Karpaz or Karpasia, is a long, finger-like peninsula that is one of the most prominent geographical features of the island of Cyprus. Its farthest extent is Cape Apostolos Andreas, and its ...

of Cyprus, she dies in a tragic manner at 32 in

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; ; , Ancient: , Katharevousa: ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens city centre along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf in the Ath ...

, Greece, after two marriages – one with a Muslim Turkish Cypriot, the other with an Orthodox Greek – and five children. Alatlı's next works were two translations into Turkish of books by

Edward Said Edward Wadie Said (1 November 1935 – 24 September 2003) was a Palestinian-American academic, literary critic, and political activist. As a professor of literature at Columbia University, he was among the founders of Postcolonialism, post-co ...

titled "''Covering Islam''" (''Haberlerin Ağında Islam'') and "''The Question of

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

''" (''Filistin’in Sorunu''), for which she was awarded with an honorary medal by Yaser Arafat. Her novella "''İşkenceci''" (''The Torturer''), published in 1987, served as a prelude to her next four novels ''Viva la Muerte! - Yaşasın Ölüm!'' in 1992, ''’Nuke’ Türkiye!'' (''Nuke Turkey'') in 1993, ''Valla, Kurda Yedirdin Beni!'' (''You Sure Made Me Prey to the Wolves'') in 1993 and ''O.K. Musti! Türkiye Tamamdır.'' (''OK Mustafa, Turkey's Done!'') in 1994. The highly realistic novel "''Kadere Karşı Koy A.Ş.''" (''Format Your Fate Formidably, Inc.''), another bestseller by Alatlı, followed in 1995. Alatlı's first poetry book "''Eylül '98''" (''September 1998'') came out in 1999. Alatlı wrote two futuristic books, "''Kabus''" (''The Nightmare'') in 1999 and "''Rüya''" (''The Dream'') in 2000 comprising " Schrodinger's Cat". Alatlı's next novels "''Grace over Enlightenment''", "''World Sentry''" and "''Eyy Uhnem! Eyy Uhnem!''" are the first three books of a four-volume work on

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

called "''Gogol'un İzinde''" (''In Gogol's Footsteps''). In 2006, she was awarded the " Mikhail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov 100th Anniversary Novel Award" for her third novel in the series. From 2002, she wrote bi-weekly a column in the right-wing Gülenist newspaper '' Zaman''. In February 2008, an article of her on the women's Islamic headgear

turban A turban (from Persian language, Persian دولبند‌, ''dolband''; via Middle French ''turbant'') is a type of headwear based on cloth winding. Featuring many variations, it is worn as customary headwear by people of various cultures. Commun ...

was not allowed to be published by the newspaper's editor-in-chief with the argument "our readers are not ready for that". A book published in 2003 under the title "''Şimdi Değilse, Ne Zaman?''" (''If not now, when?'') brought out a collection of her articles that had appeared in the newspaper ''Zaman''.

Death

Alatlı died in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

on 2 February 2024, at the age of 79. She was buried at the Mihrişah Sultan Complex following the religious service held at

Eyüp Sultan Mosque The Eyüp Sultan Mosque () is a mosque in Eyüp district of Istanbul, Turkey. The mosque complex includes a mausoleum marking the spot where Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, Ebu Eyüp el-Ansari (Abu Ayyub al-Ansari), the standard-bearer and companion of the ...

attended by high-ranked politicians.

Books

Novels

*''Aydın Despotizmi...'', Alfa Basım Yayım Dağıtım (1982) *''Yaseminler Tüter mi Hala?'', Everest Yayınları (1985) *''İşkenceci'' (1987) *''Viva la Muerte! - Yaşasın Ölüm! - Or'da Kimse Var mı? 1. Kitap'', Everest Yayınları (1992) *''’Nuke’ Türkiye!- Or'da Kimse Var mı? 2. Kitap'', Everest Yayınları (1993) *''Valla, Kurda Yedirdin Beni! - Or'da Kimse Var mı? 3. Kitap'', Everest Yayınları (1993) *''O.K. Musti! Türkiye Tamamdır. - Or'da Kimse Var mı? 4. Kitap'', Alfa Basım Yayım Dağıtım (1994) *''Kabus - Schrödinger'in Kedisi 1. Kitap'', Everest Yayınları (1999) *''Rüya - Schrödinger'in Kedisi 2. Kitap'', Everest Yayınları (2000) *''Aydınlanma Değil, Merhamet! - Gogol'ün İzinde 1. Kitap'', Everest Yayınları (2004) *''Dünya Nöbeti - Gogol'ün İzinde 2. Kitap'', Everest Yayınları (2005) * ''Eyy Uhnem! Eyy Uhnem! - Gogol'ün İzinde 3. Kitap'', Everest Yayınları (2006) * ''Hollywood'u Kapattığım Gün'', Everest Yayınları (2009) 360 pp., * ''Aklın Yolu da Bir Değildir... '', Destek Yayınları (2009) 176 pp., * ''Beyaz Türkler Küstüler - Or'da Hâlâ Kimse Var mı? 5. Kitap'', Everest Yayınları (2013) 460 pp.,

Non-fiction

* ''Şimdi Değilse, Ne zaman?'', Zaman Kitap (2003) 268 pp., * Hayır!' Diyebilmeli İnsan'', Zaman Kitap (2005) 182 pp.,

Poems

*''Eylül '98'' (''September 1998'')

Translations

*''Haberlerin Ağında İslam'' (1985) *''Filistin’in Sorunu'' (1986) *''En Emin Yol "Akvem ül-Mesalik’li Marifat Ahval el-Memalik" Tunuslu Hayreddin Paşa'' (1986)

Theater plays

''Kadere Karşı Koy A.Ş.'' (2002)

References

External links

Alatlı's official web page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alatli, Alev 1944 births 2024 deaths 20th-century Turkish women writers 20th-century Turkish novelists 21st-century Turkish women writers People from Menemen Middle East Technical University alumni Vanderbilt University alumni Academic staff of Istanbul University Turkish women economists Cumhuriyet people Turkish columnists American School in Japan alumni Turkish women columnists Burials at the Mihrişah Sultan Complex 20th-century Turkish journalists 21st-century Turkish journalists 20th-century Turkish women journalists 21st-century Turkish women journalists