Ali Rıza Seyfi (1879–1958) 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 wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

and

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

. He was born 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 ...

. His real surname was Seyfioğlu but he often wrote under the

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

of Ali Rıza. He was the brother of Süleyman Nutki, a

naval history Naval warfare is combat in and on the sea, the ocean, or any other battlespace involving a major body of water such as a large lake or wide river. The Military, armed forces branch designated for naval warfare is a navy. Naval operations can be ...

writer. He attended the Kasımpaşa Naval Elementary School and served at various posts in

Basra Basra () is a port city in Iraq, southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the List of largest cities of Iraq, third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq bor ...

, with the fleet in the

Dardanelles The Dardanelles ( ; ; ), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli (after the Gallipoli peninsula) and in classical antiquity as the Hellespont ( ; ), is a narrow, natural strait and internationally significant waterway in northwestern Turkey th ...

, at the Naval Science Commission and at Tripoli as a naval officer after 1892. He started to work at the General Staff, Naval Department Translation Office with his teacher and the famous Turkist Miralay Saffet Bey in 1906. He started to work on his naval history research in 1909 when he retired with the rank of lieutenant. After the invasion of İstanbul, he moved to Ankara with his family and worked as an English translator at the Press Department. He became head of the branch office of the Shipping Chamber of Commerce in İstanbul to where he returned in 1926. His articles and poems were published in newspapers and reviews such as '' Şehbâl'', ''Tasvir-i Efkar'', ''Donanma'', ''Sabah'', etc.

Works

Poetry

* ''Muazzez Vatana'' (For the Beloved Country, 1913).

Novels

* ''Hayat-ı Alûde'' (Complicated Life, 1900) * ''Kazıklı Voyvoda'' (Dracula, 1928) - later filmed as '' Drakula Istanbul'da'' (''Dracula in Istanbul'') (1953). * ''Deli Aslan'' (The Mad Lion, 1933) * ''Çocuk Kahraman Durakoğlu Demir'' (The Hero Kid Durakoğlu Demir, 1934) * ''Bozkırların Kurtları'' (The Wolves of the Steppes, 1935) * ''Bayram Reis'' (Bayram Reis, 1935).

History

* ''Muharebâtı Bahriye-i Osmaniye Zeyli'' (Appendices to the Ottoman Navy Wars, 1899) * ''Turgut Reis'' ( Turgut Reis, 1899) * ''Çanakkale Boğazı'' (Dardanelles, 1900) * ''Kemal Reis ve Baba Oruç'' (Kemal Reis ve Baba Oruç, 1909) * ''Barbaros Hayrettin'' (Barbaros Hayrettin, 1910) * ''Kırım Harbi'nde Kars Niçin Düştü?'' (Why Did Kars Fall in the Crimean War, 1913) * ''Kafkasya'nın Ruslar Tarafından İstilası Tarihi'' (The History of the Invasion of Caucasus by the Russians, 1917) * ''Gazi ve İnkılap'' ( Atatürk and the Revolution, 1933) * ''İskitler ve İskitler Hakkında Heredot'un Verdiği Bilgiler'' (The Scythians and Information on the Scythians Given by Herodot, 1934) * ''Kurtuluş ve Kurtuluş Savaşı Üzerindeki Yazılarım'' (My Articles on Independence and the Independence War, 1934) * ''Türklük Demek Kahramanlık Demektir'' (Being a Turk Means Being a Hero, 1940) * ''Attlee'' (Attlee, 1945)

External links

Encyclopedia of Turkish Authors: Ali Rıza Seyfi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seyfi, Ali Riza 1879 births 1958 deaths 20th-century Turkish writers 20th-century writers from the Ottoman Empire Novelists from the Ottoman Empire