Aziz Nesin (; born Mehmet Nusret, 20 December 1915,

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 ...

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– 6 July 1995, Izmir ,

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) was a Turkish writer,

humorist A humorist is an intellectual who uses humor, or wit, in writing or public speaking. A raconteur is one who tells anecdotes in a skillful and amusing way. Henri Bergson writes that a humorist's work grows from viewing the morals of society ...

and the author of more than 100 books. Born in a time when Turks did not have official surnames, he had to adopt one after the Surname Law of 1934 was passed. Although his family carried the nickname "Topalosmanoğlu", after an ancestor named "Topal Osman", he chose the surname "Nesin". In Turkish, ''Nesin?'' means, ''What are you?''.

Pseudonyms

Generally going by the name "Aziz Nesin", the name "Aziz" was originally his father's nickname, used by Nesin for the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

under which he started publishing. He wrote under more than fifty ''noms de plume'', such as the pseudonym "Vedia Nesin", his first wife's name, which he used for love poems published in the magazine ''Yedigün''.

Biography

He was born in 1915 on Heybeliada, one of the Princes' Islands of

, in the days of the

. After serving as a career officer for several years, he became the editor of a series of

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

periodicals Periodical literature (singularly called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) consists of Publication, published works that appear in new releases on a regular schedule (''issues'' or ''numbers'', often numerically divided into annu ...

with a

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

slant. He was jailed several times and placed under surveillance by the National Security Service (MAH in Turkish) for his political views. In 1946 Nesin launched a weekly satirical magazine, '' Marko Paşa'', with two leading figures, namely Sabahattin Ali and Rıfat Ilgaz. Before that Nesin was a contributor to '' Tan'' newspaper. He was among the contributors of the '' Forum'' magazine in the 1950s. Nesin provided a strong indictment of the oppression and brutalization of the common man. He satirized bureaucracy and "exposed economic inequities in stories that effectively combine local color and universal truths". Aziz Nesin has been presented with numerous awards in Turkey, Italy, Bulgaria and the former Soviet Union. His works have been translated into over thirty languages. During latter parts of his life he was said to be the only Turkish author who made a living only out of his earnings from his books. On 6 June 1956, he married a coworker from the '' Akbaba'' magazine, Meral Çelen. When he arrived in Bulgaria in 1965, he met the poet Recep Küpçü and took some of his manuscripts with him to Turkey. In 1972, he founded the Nesin Foundation in Catalca. The purpose of the Nesin Foundation is to take, each year, four poor and destitute children into the Foundation's home and provide every necessity - shelter, education and training, starting from elementary school - until they complete high school, a trade school, or until they acquire a vocation. Aziz Nesin donated to the Nesin Foundation his copyrights in their entirety for all his works in Turkey or other countries, including all of his published books, all plays to be staged, all copyrights for documentars, and all his works performed or used in radio or television. Aziz Nesin was a political activist. In the aftermath of the 1980 military coup led by Kenan Evren, Turkish intelligentsia faced heavy oppression. Aziz Nesin led a number of intellectuals to rebel against the military government, by issuing the Petition of Intellectuals (), notable signatories of which included Yalçın Küçük, Korkut Boratav, Atıf Yılmaz and Murat Belge. He was the two-time President of Türkiye Yazarlar Sendikası (Turkish Writers' Union) once from 1980 to 1986, and subsequently from 1987 to 1989. He was also a critic of

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

. In the early 1990s, he began a translation of

Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie ( ; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British and American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern wor ...

's controversial novel, '' The Satanic Verses''. This provoked outrage from Islamic organizations, who were gaining popularity throughout Turkey, who then tried to hunt him down. On 2 July 1993, while attending a mostly Alevi cultural festival in the central Anatolian city of Sivas, a mob organized by Islamists gathered around the Madimak Hotel, where the festival attendants were accommodated. After hours of siege, the intruders set the hotel on fire. After flames engulfed several lower floors of the hotel, firetrucks managed to get close, and Aziz Nesin and many guests of the hotel escaped. However, 37 people were killed. This event, also known as the Sivas massacre, was perceived as

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...

, and human rights in Turkey were allegedly disrupted at that time. It also deepened the rift between fundamentalist Muslims and those that they regard as infidels. He devoted his last years to combating religious fundamentalism. Aziz Nesin died on 6 July 1995 in

Çeşme Çeşme, officially the Çeşme Municipality, is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 285 km2, and its population is 48,924 (2022). It sits at Turkey's westernmost end, on a promontory on t ...

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 ...

, due to a heart attack. After his death, his body was buried at an unknown location in land belonging to the Nesin Foundation, without any ceremony, as requested in his will.

English language bibliography

Several of Nesin's works have been published in English translation.

Istanbul Boy

''Istanbul Boy: The Autobiography of Aziz Nesin'' ( Turkish title: ''Böyle Gelmiş Böyle Gitmez'') is a multi-volume autobiography by Turkish writer Aziz Nesin published by

University of Texas Press The University of Texas Press (or UT Press) is the university press of the University of Texas at Austin. Established in 1950, the Press publishes scholarly and trade books in several areas, including Latin American studies, Caribbean, Caribbea ...

and Southmoor Studios, in English language translation by Joseph S. Jacobson. ;Editions * * * *

Turkish Stories from Four Decades

''Turkish Stories from Four Decades'' is a 1991 short story collection by Turkish writer Aziz Nesin published by Three Continents Press, in English language translation by Louis Mitler. ;Editions *

Dog Tails

''Dog Tails'' is a long story collection by Turkish writer Aziz Nesin republished in 2000 by Southmoor Studios, in Spanish language translation by Joseph S. Jacobson. ;Editions *

Memoirs Of An Exile

''Memoirs Of An Exile'' (Turkish title: ''Bir Sürgünün Hatıraları'') is an autobiographical memoir by Turkish writer Aziz Nesin about his exile to Bursa, republished in 2001 by Southmoor Studios, in English language translation by Joseph S. Jacobson. ;Editions *

Hayri the Barber Surnâmé

''Hayri the Barber Surnâmé'' (Turkish title: ''Surnâme'') is a novel by Turkish writer Aziz Nesin republished in 2001 by Southmoor Studios, in English language translation by Joseph S. Jacobson. ;Editions *

Out of the Way! Socialism's Coming!

''Out of the Way! Socialism's Coming!'' ( Turkish title: ''Sosyalizm Geliyor Savulun!'') is a 2001 selection of three stories from a short story collection by Turkish writer Aziz Nesin, published by Milet Books, in a dual of the original Turkish and an English language translation by Damian Croft, as part of its series of Turkish-English Short Story Collections. The publisher states that, "In these hilarious and entertaining stories, the legendary Aziz Nesin turns his uniquely incisive, satirical wit on shifting ideologies, bureaucracy and the question of who’s really (in)sane: the ones locked up or the ones outside." A review in ''Write Away'' states that, "These are thought provoking parables of our time," that, "take the mickey out of bureaucracy and political ideology and hypocrisy," and "should leave readers laughing and thinking." The volume consists of the stories; *''Out of the Way! Socialism's Coming!'' *''The Inspector's Coming'' *''The Lunatics Break Loose'' For an English-only edition of the full collection, see below under '' Socialism Is Coming: Stand Aside''. ;Editions *

The Dance of the Eagle and the Fish

''The Dance of the Eagle and the Fish'' is a children's book adapted by English writer Alison Boyle from the short story of the same name by Turkish writer Aziz Nesin and published in 2001 by Milet Books, in English language translation by Ruth Christie. ;Editions *

Socialism Is Coming: Stand Aside

''Socialism Is Coming: Stand Aside'' (Turkish title: ''Sosyalizm Geliyor Savulun!'') is a short story collection by Turkish writer Aziz Nesin republished in 2002 by Southmoor Studios, in English language translation by Joseph S. Jacobson. ;Editions *

The Tales of Nasrettin Hoca

''The Tales of Nasrettin Hoca'' (Turkish title: ''Nasrettin Hoca Hikayeleri'') is a short story collection by Turkish writer Aziz Nesin based on the folk tales of Nasrettin Hoca republished in 2002 by Dost Yayınları, in English language translation by Talât Sait Halman. ;Editions *

Laugh or Lament

''Laugh or Lament: Selected Short Stories'' is a 2002 short story collection by Turkish writer Aziz Nesin published by Turkish Ministry of Culture, in English language translation by Masud Akhtar Shaikh, with an introduction by the translator. The volume consists of the stories; ;Editions * *

Online translations

Istanbul Boy: The Autobiography of Aziz Nesin, Part I''
at University of Texas.
''A Patriotic Duty''
at Boğaziçi University.

Notes

According to Nesin's

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

''Memoirs of an Exile'': "They named me ''Nusret''. In Turkish, this Arabic word means 'God's Help.' It was a name entirely fitting to us because my family, destitute of any other hope, placed all their hope in God."''Memoirs Of An Exile''
Lightmillennium.org

References

Sources

* Nesin, Aziz. ''Istanbul Boy'' – The autobiography of Aziz Nesin, translated by Joseph S. Jacobson * Turkishculture.org �
Aziz Nesin (1916-1995)
* Allword, Edward. ''The Tatars of Crimea: Return to the Homeland : Studies and Documents''. North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1998. .

External links

Nesin Foundation

* &
Poems of Aziz Nesin
Poetry of Aziz Nesin, translated into English
Online edition of ''Istanbul Boy, Part I''

Aziz Nesin: A Black-comedy Defiant Turkish Satirist
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nesin, Aziz 1915 births 1995 deaths Turkish atheism activists Writers from Istanbul Turkish people of Crimean Tatar descent Kuleli Military High School alumni Turkish Military Academy alumni Turkish Army officers Turkish children's writers Turkish magazine founders Turkish novelists Turkish poets Turkish former Sunni Muslims Turkish prisoners and detainees Turkish humorists Prisoners and detainees of Turkey 20th-century Turkish novelists 20th-century Turkish poets Akbaba (periodical) people Turkish secularists Turkish Marxists Turkish atheists