Which Globalization

by Attilâ İlhan

Turkiye, 30'lu yillardan itibaren ''totaliterlik' ruzgarina direnememis, inkilapci cumhuriyetin otoriterliginden, bir 'tek parti' totaliterligine suruklenmisti; 1950'li yillardan bugune kendimizi demokrasiye gecmis olmakla avutuyoruz; oysa 'gidisat' hic de oyle gorunmuyor. Turkiye, bu defa 'kuresellesme' ve 'ozellestirme' masalina inanmis, paldir kuldur 'globaliterlige' dogru suruklenmektedir; ustelik daha 'sivil,' daha 'demokrat,' daha 'insan haklarina dayali' bir duzene 'donustugunu, zannederek!...'40 karanligi'nda sair ne demisti, hadi gel de simdi hatirlama:''... gun gibi ayan oldu icime, encami fenadir bu gidisatin!..''Attila IlhanSayfa Sayisi: 419Baski Yili: 2003Dili: TurkceYayinevi: Is Bankasi Kultur Yayinlari

250 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Attilâ İlhan was born in Menemen in İzmir Province, Turkey on 15 June 1925. He received most of his primary education in İzmir. However, because of his father's job, he completed his junior high school education in different cities. Aged 16 and enrolled in İzmir Atatürk High School, he got into trouble for sending a poem by Nazım Hikmet, a famous dissident communist Turkish poet, to a girl he was in love with. He was arrested and taken into custody for three weeks. He was also dismissed from school and jailed for two months. After his imprisonment, İlhan was forbidden from attending any schools in Turkey, thus interrupting his education.

Following a favorable court decision in 1941, he received permission to continue his education again and enrolled in Istanbul Işık High School. During the last year of his high school education, his uncle sent one of his poems to CHP Poetry Competition without telling Attilâ. The poem, Cebbaroğlu Mehemmed, won the second prize among many poems written by famous poets. He graduated from high school in 1942 and enrolled in Istanbul University's law school. However, he left midway through his legal education to pursue his own endeavors and published his first poetry book, Duvar (The Wall).