Sait Faik Abasiyanik

Sait Faik Abasıyanık was one of the most influential and original writers of modern Turkish literature. He was born in Adapazarı, a town in northwestern Turkey, to a wealthy and prominent family. His father was a lumber merchant and a mayor of Adapazarı, and his mother was from a distinguished family with large estates. Sait Faik received his primary and secondary education in Istanbul and Bursa, and then enrolled in the Turcology Department of Istanbul University in 1928. However, under pressure from his father, he went to Switzerland to study economics in 1930. He left school and lived in France, mainly in Grenoble, from 1931 to 1935. This experience had a profound impact on his art and character, as he was exposed to different cultures and lifestyles. He also developed a passion for fishing and sailing, which became recurring themes in his stories. After returning to Turkey, he taught Turkish in an Armenian school for orphans, and tried to follow his father's wishes and go into business, but was unsuccessful. He devoted his life to writing after 1934. He published his first book of short stories, Semaver (The Samovar), in 1936. 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 laborers, fishermen, children, the unemployed, and the poor. His stories focused on the urban lifestyle, and he depicted the denizens of the darker places in Istanbul. He also explored the torments of the human soul, and the agony of love and betrayal. He used a simple, colloquial, and poetic language, and experimented with different narrative techniques. He was influenced by various writers, such as André Gide, Comte de Lautréamont, and Jean Genet. The majority of his work consisted of short stories, but he also wrote two novels, Bir Takım İnsanlar (A Group of People) and Medarı Maişet Motoru (The Livelihood Engine). His novel Bir Takım İnsanlar was censored and confiscated due to its portrayal of the class system and social injustice. He also wrote a book of poetry, Şimdi Sevişme Vakti (Now is the Time to Make Love), and translated some works from French into Turkish. He also tried to write films and plays, but did not succeed. A major theme of his work was always the sea, and he spent most of his time in Burgazada, one of the Princes' Islands in the Marmara Sea. He lived in a house that he inherited from his father, and later donated to the Darüşşafaka Foundation, which runs a school for orphans. The house is now a museum dedicated to his life and work. He became an honorary member of the International Mark Twain Society of St. Louis, Missouri, in 1939. Sait Faik was a heavy drinker, and suffered from cirrhosis of the liver. He died on 11 May 1954 in Istanbul, at the age of 47. He was buried in Zincirlikuyu Cemetery. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest Turkish writers of short stories and poetry, and an important literary figure of the 1940s. He influenced many writers, such as Oktay Akbal, Adalet Ağaoğlu, Ferit Edgü, Demir Özlü, Cemal Süreya, and Sezai Karakoç. He is also the namesake of the Sait Faik Story Award, which is given annually to the best short story writer in Turkey since 1955.