Peyami Safa
| Peyami Safa | |
|---|---|
| Born |
1899 Istanbul, Ottoman Empire |
| Died |
June 15, 1961 Istanbul, Turkey |
| Pen name | Server Bedii |
| Occupation | Journalist, columnist, novelist |
| Language | Turkish |
| Nationality | Turkish |
| Notable works | Cingöz Recai |
Peyami Safa (1899, Istanbul-June 15, 1961, Istanbul) was a Turkish journalist, columnist and novelist.
Early life
He was born in 1899 to writer and poet İsmail Safa (1867-1901) in Istanbul, Ottoman Empire. While he was only two years old, his father died in exile in Sivas. During his youth years until the age of seventeen, he lived in psychic and physical depression due a bone sickness he suffered from at the age of eight or nine. He rejected his doctors' advice to amputate his arm. Safa described his experiences in hospitals in his novel Dokuzuncu Hariciye Koğuşu, which was filmed in 1967.[1]
In 1911, Peyami Safa had to give up his education at Vefa High School, and began working in a printing house and later in the Ministry of Post. He taught himself French, and in 1918 together with his elder brother began publishing a newspaper. In later years, he published three literary periodicals. He also wrote in various newspapers sometimes as a columnist, and sometimes as a novelist.[1]
Career
Most of his novels were created before 1940. In these novels, he stressed on the west-east conflict in the Turkish society during the early years of the Turkish Republic. His novel Dokuzuncu Hariciye Koğuşu gained much interest. In 1931, he wrote his only historical novel about Attila the Hun. Besides these novels, he wrote many serial stories and novels in newspapers, among tem in Cumhuriyet and Milliyet, under the pseudonym "Server Bedii". Some of these are about a gentleman thief named Cingöz Recai.[1]
Works
He wrote 15 novels, excluding those written under pseudonym. He also wrote 17 non-fictions and 9 textbooks mostly about literature.[1]
Later years
He died on June 15, 1961 in Istanbul at the age of 62 after couple of months his son Merve died, as he was serving his time in the military. Peyami Safa was laid to rest at the Edirnekapı Martyr's Cemetery. He was the editor-in-chief of the daily Son Havadis as he died.[1]