Suna Tanaltay (22 April 1933 – 5 March 2021) was a Turkish writer, teacher, poet and psychologist.

Life

Suna Merze was born to Sami and Macide in

Mersin Mersin (), also known as İçel, is a large city and a port on the Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of Mersin (İçel) Province. It is made up of four municipalities and district governorates: Akdeniz, Mezitl ...

, Turkey, on 22 April 1933. Her mother, Macide, was also a

wet nurse A wet nurse is a woman who breastfeeds and cares for another's child. Wet nurses are employed if the mother dies, or if she is unable or chooses not to nurse the child herself. Wet-nursed children may be known as "milk-siblings", and in some cu ...

to Nevit Kodallı, the famous Turkish composer. She finished the

Tevfik Sırrı Gür High School Tevfik Sırrı Gür High School (or more formally "Tevfik Sırrı Gür Anatolian High School") is the oldest high school in Mersin, Turkey History The high school was established in 1909 by the Ottoman Empire Ministry of Education. However w ...

in Mersin and then graduated from the School of Psychology of

Istanbul University , image = Istanbul_University_logo.svg , image_size = 200px , latin_name = Universitas Istanbulensis , motto = tr, Tarihten Geleceğe Bilim Köprüsü , mottoeng = Science Bridge from Past to the Future , established = 1453 1846 1933 ...

. She also obtained certificates in History of Philosophy, Old and New

Turkish literature Turkish literature ( tr, Türk edebiyatı) comprises oral compositions and written texts in Turkic languages. The Ottoman and Azerbaijani forms of Turkish, which forms the basis of much of the written corpus, were highly influenced by Persian a ...

. She served as a teacher in the Kandilli Girls' High School and the

Kabataş High School Kabataş may refer to: * Kabataş, Beyoğlu, a quarter in the European part of Istanbul, Turkey ** Kabataş (Istanbul Metro), a funicular railway station * Kabataş, Çine, a village in Aydın Province, Turkey * Kabataş, Kemaliye, a village in Erz ...

both in Istanbul. Between 1958 and 1979, she served as a psychologist in the School of Medicine of

. She was married to Dr. Erdoğan Tanaltay. The couple toured throughout Turkey to give lectures. She lived in Mersin. She was a member of the

Turkish Writers' Union The Turkish Writers' Union ( tr, Türkiye Yazarlar Sendikası, abbreviated as TYS) is a trade union for writers in Turkey. It is sometimes confused with the Turkish Authors' Association () as both may be translated as ''Writers Union of Turkey''. ...

, Turkish Litterateurs Association, Turkish Neuropsychology Association and Mersin Poets' Association.Biography page
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Writing career

She began her career in literature when she was only fifteen. Her first short story ''İncir Ağacı'' ("Fig Tree") appeared in ''

Akşam ''Akşam'' (''Evening'') is a Turkish newspaper founded in 1918, owned by Zeki Yeşildağ's Türk Medya Grup (T Medya Yatırım San. ve Tic. AŞ.) since 2013. In 2013 it had a circulation of around 100,000. History ''Akşams founders in 1918 incl ...

'' newspaper. Later, her essays and poems were published in various periodicals and newspapers. For 26 years, she made weekly radio programs. She also appeared in television channels such as

Turkish Radio and Television Corporation The Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT; Turkish : ) is the national public broadcaster of Turkey, founded in 1964. TRT was for many years the only television and radio provider in Turkey. Before the introduction of commercial radio ...

(TRT),

Star TV Star TV may refer to: * E! (Canadian TV channel) (formerly Star!), a Canadian entertainment news channel * Las Estrellas (Spanish for The Stars), the Mexican television network * Estrella TV (Spanish for Star TV), the American Spanish-language ne ...

, Kanal 6, Kanal 9 and HBB.

Legacy

Suna Tanaltay and her husband received a

Certificate of Merit The Certificate of Merit Medal was a military decoration of the United States Army that was issued between the years of 1905 and 1918. The Certificate of Merit Medal replaced the much older Certificate of Merit which was authorized by the United ...

from the commander of the 23rd Division of the

Turkish army The Turkish Land Forces ( tr, Türk Kara Kuvvetleri), or Turkish Army (Turkish: ), is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The army was formed on November 8, 1920, after the collapse of the ...

stationed in

Şırnak Şırnak ( ku, شرنەخ, Şirnex) is a town in southeastern Turkey. It is the capital of Şırnak Province, a new province that split from the Mardin and Siirt provinces. The Habur border gate with Iraq which is one of Turkey's main links to Ara ...

, southeastern Turkey. In

Dikili Dikili is a coastal town and a district of İzmir Province in the Aegean Region of Turkey. The district is quite picturesque both along its shoreline and in its inland parts, and is a popular summer resort. The central town of Dikili is situated a ...

ilçe The 81 provinces of Turkey are divided into 973 districts (''ilçeler''; sing. ''ilçe''). In the early Turkish Republic and in the Ottoman Empire, the corresponding unit was the ''kaza''. Most provinces bear the same name as their respectiv ...

(district) of

İzmir Province İzmir Province ( tr, İzmir ili) is a province and metropolitan municipality of Turkey in western Anatolia, situated along the Aegean coast. Its capital is the city of İzmir, which is in itself composed of the province's central 11 districts ...

and in

Akçakoca Akçakoca is both a town and district of Düzce Province, in the Black Sea region of Turkey, located about 200 km east of Istanbul. The town was named after a Turkish chieftain of the 14th century CE who captured the area for the Ottoman E ...

ilçe of

Düzce Province Düzce Province ( tr, ) is a province in northwestern Turkey. It is on the coastline of the Black Sea and is traversed by the main highway between Istanbul and Ankara. The main town is Düzce. There are ancient Greek ruins in the province. Düz ...

, the couple received the "

Honorary citizen Honorary citizenship is a status bestowed by a city or other government on a foreign or native individual whom it considers to be especially admirable or otherwise worthy of the distinction. The honour usually is symbolic and does not confer an ...

" title. In Dikili and in

Balıkesir Balıkesir () is a city in Turkey and is the capital city of Balıkesir Province. Balıkesir is located in the Marmara region of Turkey and has a population of 338,936. Between 1341–1922, it was the capital of Karasi. History Close to ...

, a street is named after them.People page
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Books

Books written by Tanaltay are the following:
/ref> *''Çocukluğumdan Bana Kalan'' ("What Remains to me from My Childhood") *''Çocuklar Ağlamasın'' ("Don't Let the Children Cry") *''İskambil Evler'' ("Houses Made of Playing Cards") *''Sevdalar Çocuk Kalır'' ("Love Stays Like a Child") *''Sonsuz Paylaşanlar'' ("Infinite Sharers") *''Yaşam Nehri'' ("The River of Life") *''Gençlik Sevgidir'' ("The Youth is Love") *''Ben Sevgiyim'' ("I am The Love") *''Şakayık Sokak'' ("Peony Street") *''Düş Sevginin Peşine'' ("Follow the Love") *''Gül Kokusu'' ("Smell of Rose") *''Sevdikçe'' ("As I love") *''Önce Sevgi Vardı'' ("In the Beginning, There Was Love") *''Kapıda Bir Gül Açtı'' ("A Rose Blossomed at the Door") *''Seviyorum Öylese Varım'' ("I Love so I Exist")

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tanaltay, Suna 2021 deaths 1933 births People from Mersin Istanbul University alumni Turkish psychologists Turkish schoolteachers Turkish radio presenters Turkish women radio presenters Turkish television presenters Turkish women television presenters Turkish women poets 20th-century Turkish women writers 20th-century Turkish writers Turkish women psychologists