Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar (23 June 1901 – 24 January 1962) was a prominent Turkish poet, novelist, literary scholar, and essayist, recognized as one of the key figures of modernism in Turkish literature. Born in Istanbul on 23 June 1901, Tanpınar was the youngest of three children. His father, Hüseyin Fikri Efendi, was a judge of Georgian origin, and his mother, Nesime Bahriye Hanım, passed away in Mosul in 1915 when Tanpınar was thirteen.

Due to his father's profession, Tanpınar experienced a nomadic educational journey, studying in various cities such as Istanbul, Sinop, Siirt, Kirkuk, and Antalya. After abandoning veterinary college, he pursued studies in the Faculty of Literature at Istanbul University, completing his degree in 1923. Yahya Kemal, a significant influence on Tanpınar's intellectual development, tutored him during his university years. Tanpınar began publishing poems in the literary magazine Dergâh between 1921 and 1923.


Following his graduation in 1923, Tanpınar embarked on a career in education, teaching at various high schools and institutions, including the Fine Arts Academy. He stirred debate in the 1930s by advocating for the removal of pre-Tanzimat literature from national school curricula. Despite lacking a doctorate, Tanpınar was appointed as the professor of New Turkish Literature at Istanbul University in 1939 and tasked with writing a history of post-Tanzimat Turkish Literature.


The 1940s marked a prolific period for Tanpınar, with notable works such as "Beş Şehir" ("Five Cities," 1946), "Mahur Beste" (1944), and "Huzur" ("A Mind at Peace," 1949). In 1954, he published "Saatleri Ayarlama Enstitüsü" ("The Time Regulation Institute"), a satirical exploration of Turkey's transition to modernity. Tanpınar's literary trilogy comprises "Huzur," "Beş Şehir," and "Sahnenin Dışındakiler" ("Those Who Stand Outside the Stage," 1950).
Apart from his literary pursuits, Tanpınar served as a member of the Turkish Parliament representing Kahramanmaraş from 1944 to 1946. He was associated with the Republican People's Party during this period.


Tanpınar passed away on 24 January 1962, at the age of 60, due to a heart attack in Istanbul. His grave is in the Aşiyan Cemetery, close to that of his mentor Yahya Kemal. Several works that Tanpınar couldn't publish during his lifetime were released posthumously. The Istanbul Tanpınar Literature Festival (ITEF) and the Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar Literature Museum Library in Istanbul, opened in 2011, are named in his honor.

References;

1. "Gdd, Hüseyin Fikri Efendi". gdd.org.tr. Archived from the original on 5 February 2015. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
2. M. Orhan Okay, Bir hülya adamının romanı: Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar, Dergâh Yayınları, 2010, ISBN 9789759951900, p. 26.
3. Sinan Niyazioğlu (2019). "Socialist Realist or Republican Nationalist? Two Faces of Art Deco on Turkish Popular Magazine Covers (1930-1939)". InfoDesign: Revista Brasileira de Design da Informação. 16 (2): 275. doi:10.51358/id.v16i2.729.
4. Tanpınar (translated by Shaj Mathew and Selin Ünlüönen), Letter to a Young Girl in Antalya, PMLA 138.2 (2023), pp. 356-361.

THANKS FOR READING, HOPE YOU LIKED IT!
#writing #novelist #author #turkish #writer #culture