Yahya Kemal

by Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar

"Bir edebiyat tedkikçisi ne kadar zengin bir hayat tecrübesine ve geniş kültüre sahip ise, incelediği esere bakış tarzı o kadar derin ve onda bulduğu unsurlar o kadar çeşitli olur. Edebî eserin güzellik ve zenginliği ile onu inceleyenin şahsiyet ve kültürü, birbirine bakan aynalar gibi, perspektifi alabildiğine derinleştirir.
Türk edebiyatında bunun en güzel örneği, çok yönlü bir yazar olan Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar'ın, hocası ve üstadı Yahya Kemal Beyatlı hakkında yazdığı kitaptır."
—Prof. Dr. Mehmet Kaplan

216 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1962

About the author

Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar (23 June 1901 - 24 January 1962) was one of the most important modern novelists and essayists of Turkish literature. He was also a member of the Turkish parliament (the Grand National Assembly of Turkey) between 1942 and 1946.

Tanpınar was born in Istanbul on 23 June 1901. His father was a judge, Hüseyin Fikri Efendi. Hüseyin Fikri Efendi was Georgian from Maçahel. Tanpınar's mother died at Mosul, when Tanpınar was thirteen. Because his father's vocation required frequent relocation, Tanpınar continued his education in several different cities, including Istanbul, Sinop, Siirt, Kirkuk, and Antalya. After quitting veterinary college, he resumed his educational career at the Faculty of Literature at Istanbul University, which he completed in 1923. As a literature teacher, he taught at high schools in Erzurum (1923–1924), Konya, Ankara, the Educational Institute of Gazi and the Fine Arts Academy. At the Fine Arts Academy, besides teaching literature, Tanpınar taught in branches of aesthetics in arts, history of art and mythology (1932–1939). From 1942 to 1946, he entered the Turkish National Assembly as parliamentar of Kahramanmaraş. In 1953, he made an extensive journey to Europe, traveling many countries within six months such as France, Belgium, Holland, England, Spain and Italy. Tanpınar died of a heart attack on the 24 January 1962 in Istanbul. His grave is in the Aşiyan Graveyard, Istanbul.

He is one of the most important authors of Turkish literature, successfully combining Eastern and Western cultures within his writings. Yahya Kemal Beyatlı played an important role in his upbringing. In his poetry, he uses Turkish classical music and dreaming as the textile of his works. Both in his poetry and novels psychological analyses, history, the characteristics of his time, the binding between the society and the individual, dreams and the problems of civilization are given a great place. One of his most significant works is The Time Regulation Institute (Saatleri Ayarlama Enstitüsü). The novel has been widely acclaimed as an ironic criticism of the bureaucratization process with the implication that its title suggests, though that is not what the book is all about. In fact, the book can be read from quite different perspectives, and cannot be exhausted in only one reading. First of all, it is a great psychological analysis of a man who suffers from being unable to adapt himself to his time, in other words to modern times. So the fact of bureaucratization is indeed incorporated into a broader problem: modernization and its impact on the individual. Most of the characters of the novel seem to be struggling in strange ways in order to survive in modern times. In this way, the concept of "time" occupies a central place, giving a deeper sense, even a philosophical taste to the novel.

Reviews

[Fearless · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kitap genel olarak bir biyografi izlenimi uyandirsada belli bir donem ve asil Turkcenin korunmasinda rol oynamis bazi yazarlar ve ozellikle Ziya Gokalp cok fazla anilmis. Yazarin sevdigi konular, baska yazarlara gore kimligi, aile hayati, ona ilham veren seyler, siirimi nesirimi daha cok sevdigiyle ilgili ya da hangisini daha cok elestirdigiyle ilgili bilgileri goremiyoruz.

Kitabin sonunda 4.5 sayfalik Ahmet Hamdinin gozunden olan kisim asil kitabin butununun olmasi gereken halinin minicik bir gorunumuydu gibi. Hepsinin oyle olmasini tercih ederdim.

Donemle ilgili olan kisimlar ve yazarlarin ya da sairlerin karsilastirmalari kitabi zor okunur hale getirmisti. Ama bir yandanda ilgilenecekler icin guzeldi. O donemi daha iyi anlasamda Yahya Kemalle ilgili genel olanin otesinde ozel bilgiler edinebilecegim bir eser olmadi.

[Kürşat · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kitabı biyografi maiyetinde okudum ama bana kalırsa bir biyografi değildi bu dönemi yansıtan bir kitap olmuş Yahya Kemal'in sadece şiir dilini görebiliyoruz ona dair başka bir bilgi yok doğum ve ölüm tarihi bile yazmıyor kitapta Ahmet Haşim Ziya Gökalp gibi isimler en az onun kadar çok geçiyor o yüzden beğenmediğim bir kitap oldu.