Oguz Atay

Oğuz Atay was a Turkish writer and novelist, who is regarded as one of the pioneers of the modern novel in Turkey. He was born on October 12, 1934, in the town of İnebolu, in the province of Kastamonu. He completed his elementary and middle school education in Ankara, and graduated from the Istanbul Technical University School of Civil Engineering in 1957. He worked as a repair and control engineer at the Kadıköy ferry pier, and then joined the Istanbul State Engineering and Architecture Academy (now Yıldız Technical University) as a faculty member. He became an associate professor in 1975 and wrote a textbook on topography. Atay's literary career began with his first novel, Tutunamayanlar (The Disconnected), which was published in 1971-72. The novel won the 1970 TRT Novel Award, but was never reprinted in his lifetime and was controversial among critics. It has become a best-seller since a new edition came out in 1984, and has been described as "probably the most eminent novel of twentieth-century Turkish literature" by a UNESCO survey. The novel is a complex and experimental work that explores the alienation and disillusionment of the Turkish intelligentsia in the 1960s and 1970s. It employs various narrative techniques, such as stream of consciousness, collage, parody, intertextuality, and metafiction. Atay's second novel, Tehlikeli Oyunlar (Dangerous Games), was published in 1973. It is a semi-autobiographical work that depicts the psychological crisis of a middle-aged engineer and academic, who tries to escape from his mundane life by writing a play. The novel is also a satire of the Turkish society and culture, and a critique of the political and ideological conflicts of the time. Atay also wrote a play with the same title, which was staged by the State Theater in 1973. Atay's other works include Korkuyu Beklerken (Waiting for the Fear), a collection of short stories published in 1975; Bir Bilim Adamının Romanı: Mustafa İnan (The Life of a Scientist: Mustafa İnan), a biographical novel about his former teacher and mentor, who was a professor of mathematics and mechanics at the Istanbul Technical University, published in 1975; Günlük (Diary), a posthumous collection of his personal writings, published in 1987; and Eylembilim (Action Theory), a posthumous collection of his essays and interviews, published in 1998. Atay died of a brain tumor on December 13, 1977, at the age of 43, in his friend Altay Gündüz's house in Mecidiyeköy, Istanbul. He was buried at the Edirnekapı Martyr's Cemetery. He left behind an unfinished project, Türkiye'nin Ruhu (The Soul of Turkey), which was intended to be a comprehensive analysis of the Turkish history and culture. Atay's works have gained a wide recognition and appreciation after his death, and have influenced many Turkish writers and intellectuals. His novels have been translated into several languages, such as Dutch, German, English, and Greek.