Yusuf Atılgan (27 June 1921 – 9 October 1989) was a Turkish novelist and dramatist, who is best known for his novels ''Aylak Adam'' (The Loiterer) and ''Anayurt Oteli'' (Motherland Hotel). He is one of the pioneers of the modern Turkish novel.
Atılgan is considered one of the pioneers of the modern Turkish novel. His novels had a psychological style, digging into themes such as loneliness, questioning, meaning of life, and the mindful journey of people. His novels were influenced by modernism.
Atılgan finished middle school in Manisa, then high school in
Balıkesir
Balıkesir () is a city in the Marmara Region, Marmara region of Turkey. It is the seat of Balıkesir Province, which is also a Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality. As of 2022, the population of Balıkesir Province ...
. He graduated in Turkish language and literature from
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 ...
. He finished his thesis titled ''Tokatlı Kani: Sanat, şahsiyet ve psikoloji'' under supervision of Nihat Tarlan. Atılgan then began teaching literature at Maltepe Askeri Lisesi in
Akşehir
Akşehir is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Konya Province, Turkey. Its area is , and its population is 93,965 (2022). It was known historically as Philomelium.
The town is situated at the edge of a fertile plain, on the north ...
. In 1946, he settled down at a village named Hacırahmanlı near Manisa where he took up writing. His novel ''Aylak Adam'' was published in 1959 which dealt with psychological themes such as loneliness, scope and possibility of love, meaning of life, seeking, and obsession. This was followed in 1973 by ''Anayurt Oteli'', which narrated the life of a hotel doorkeeper(named Zebercet) in an Anatolian town, with deep psychological examinations and touching themes such as sexuality and obsession. It gained further fame with a film based on the novel. In 1976, he began working in Istanbul as an editor and translator. With his wife Serpil he had a son in 1979 named Mehmet.
Atılgan died of a heart attack in 1989 while in the middle of writing a novel titled ''Canistan''.
Bibliography
Novels
* ''
Aylak Adam'' (1959)
* ''
Anayurt Oteli'' (1973)
* ''
Canistan'' (2000)
* ''
Motherland Hotel: Translated from the Turkish by Fred Stark''
-City Lights Publishers. (2016).
Short Stories
* Bodur Minareden Öte (1960)
* Çocuk Kitabı: Ekmek Elden Süt Memeden (1981)
* Eylemci (Bütün Öyküleri (1992)
Translations
* Toplumda Sanat (K. Baynes; 1980)
Plays
* Toplumda Sanat (K. Baynes; 1980).
References
External links
A biography of Yusuf AtılganYusuf Atılgan, Contemporary Turkish Literature
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atilgan, Yusuf
1921 births
1989 deaths
Turkish novelists
People from Manisa
20th-century Turkish novelists
Balıkesir Lisesi alumni
Burials at Bülbüldere Cemetery