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Sait Faik Abasıyanık (18 November 1906 – 11 May 1954) was one of the greatest
Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...
writers of short stories and poetry and considered an important literary figure of the 1940s. He created a brand new style in Turkish literature and brought new life to Turkish short story writing with his harsh but humanistic portrayals of labourers, fishermen, children, the unemployed, and the poor. His stories focused on the urban lifestyle and he portrayed the denizens of the darker places in Istanbul. He also explored the "...torments of the human soul and the agony of love and betrayal..."


Biography

Born in
Adapazarı Adapazarı () is a municipality and the capital Districts of Turkey, district of Sakarya Province, Turkey. Its area is 324 km2, and its population 281,489 (2022). It covers the central and northern part of the agglomeration of Adapazarı and t ...
, on 18 November 1906, he was educated at Istanbul Lisesi 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 ...
and then in
Bursa Bursa () is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the Marmara Region, Bursa is one of the industrial centers of the country. Most of ...
. He enrolled in the Turcology Department of
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 ...
in 1928, but under pressure from his father went to Switzerland to study economics in 1930. He left school and lived from 1931 to 1935 in France (mainly Grenoble) – an experience which had a deep impact on his art and character. After returning to
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 ...
he taught
Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...
in Halıcıoğlu Armenian School for Orphans, and tried to follow his father's wishes and go into business but was unsuccessful. At this time he also began to publish his pieces in ''
Varlık ''Varlık'' is a monthly Turkish literature and art magazine. Established by Yaşar Nabi Nayır, Sabri Esat Siyavuşgil, and Nahit Sırrı Örik in 1933, it often publishes poetry and works of famous Turkish poets and writers. History and p ...
'', a national periodical. In 1936, he published his first book of short stories, ''Semaver''. The majority of his work consisted of short stories; however, in 1952 he wrote a novel, ''Bir Takım Insanlar'', which was censored due to its portrayal of the class system. A major theme of his was always the ocean and he spent most of his time in
Burgazada Burgazada, or Burgaz Adası (Burgaz for short), is the third largest of the Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmara, near Istanbul, Turkey. It is officially a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Adalar, Istanbul Province, Turkey. It ...
(one of the
Princes' Islands The Princes' Islands (; the word "princes" is plural, because the name means "Islands of the Princes", , ''Pringiponisia''), officially just Adalar (); alternatively the Princes' Archipelago; is an archipelago off the coast of Istanbul, Turkey, ...
in the Marmara Sea). He became an honorary member of the International Mark Twain Society of St. Louis, Missouri on 14 May 1939. A number of researchers and critics, with a view to Sait Faik's last stories, have claimed that he tended towards surrealism. The themes of those last stories and their language and narrative deeply affected the post-1950 writers in particular through these changes. Because of the originality of his style, he has been considered as the source of himself.Yücel, Tahsin, ''Sait Faik''. Varlık Dergisi, 1 Aralık 1954. No:413, sayfa 7 He died on 11 May 1954 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 ...
. Sait Faik mostly published under the name ''Sait Faik'', other pen names being ''Adalı'' ("Island dweller"), ''Sait Faik Adalı'', and ''S. F.''.


Bibliography


Legacy

Sait Faik left his wealth to the Darüşşafaka School for orphans. The Sait Faik foundation is still run by Darüşşafaka School, maintaining his Burgaz House as the Sait Faik Abasıyanık Museum and since 1954 giving the annual Sait Faik Literature Prize to the best collection of short stories. The first Sait Faik Short Story prize winner was "Gazoz Ağacı" by Sabahattin Kudret Aksal and this most prestigious literary prize has been given so far to some of the best Turkish authors including Pınar Kür, Tomris Uyar,
Füruzan Füruzan (born Feruze Çerçi, 29 October 1932 – 11 February 2024) was a Turkish self-taught writer, who was highly regarded for her sensitive characterisations of the poor and her depictions of Turkish immigrants abroad. Biography Born ...
and
Nazlı Eray Nazlı Eray is a Turkish writer known for her writings that combine real and fictional people. Early life and education Eray was born 28 June 1945 in Ankara. She graduated from the British Girls' Secondary School in Istanbul in 1958 and then fro ...
.


Footnotes


References

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External links


Sait Faik Abasıyanık
*Translation of "''Semaver''" (The Samovar) int

by H. Ozkan *Translation of a collection o
Sait Faik's Short Stories
by renowned translator Talat Halman {{DEFAULTSORT:Abasiyanik, Sait Faik Alcohol-related deaths in Turkey 1906 births 1954 deaths Turkish male short story writers Deaths from cirrhosis Istanbul High School alumni People from Adapazarı 20th-century Turkish novelists 20th-century Turkish short story writers 20th-century Turkish male writers Burials at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery