Adalet Ağaoğlu facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Adalet Ağaoğlu
Born	Adalet Sümer (1929-10-23)23 October 1929 Nallıhan, Ankara, Turkey
Died	14 July 2020(2020-07-14) (aged 90) Istanbul, Turkey
Nationality	Turkish
Alma mater	Ankara University
Occupation	Novelist, playwright
Spouse(s)	Halim Ağaoğlu ​ ​ (m. 1954; died 2018)​
Awards	Turkish Presidency Merit Award 1995

Adalet Ağaoğlu (born Sümer; October 23, 1929 – July 14, 2020) was a famous Turkish writer. She wrote many novels and plays. People think she was one of the most important novelists in 20th-century Turkish literature. She also wrote essays, stories about her life (called memoirs), and short stories.

Her Life Story

Adalet Ağaoğlu was born on October 23, 1929, in a town called Nallıhan. Her father, Hafız Mustafa Sümer, was a fabric merchant. She was the second child and the only girl in her family. She had three brothers: Cazip Sümer, Güner Sümer (who was also a playwright and actor), and Ayhan Sümer.

Early Life and Education

Adalet finished primary school in Nallıhan. In 1938, her family moved to Ankara. She went to Ankara Girls' High School for her secondary education. Later, in 1950, she graduated from Ankara University. She studied French Language and Literature there.

Starting Her Writing Career

Adalet became interested in writing when she was in high school. She started by writing poems. Soon, she began writing plays. In 1946, she started publishing theater reviews in a newspaper called Ulus. Her poems were also published in Kaynak Magazine from 1948 to 1950.

Working in Radio and Theater

From 1951 to 1970, Adalet worked at TRT, which is the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation. She wrote her first radio play, "Aşk Şarkısı" (Love Song), in her first year there. While working at the radio, she helped start Ankara's first private theater. It was called "Meydan Sahnesi" (Square Stage). She also published a magazine for the theater.

In 1953, she traveled to Paris to learn more about theater. A play she wrote with Sevim Uzungören, "Let's Write a Play," was performed in Ankara that same year. In 1954, she married an engineer named Halim Ağaoğlu. She continued to write plays and became a leading playwright in the 1960s and 1970s.

A New Path: Novel Writing

In 1965, one of her plays, "Crack on the Roof," was not allowed to be performed at the Ankara State Theater. This event made her decide to start writing novels. In 1970, she left her job at TRT. After that, she focused only on writing. Sometimes, she used pen names like "Remus Tealada" and "Parker Quinck."

Her Famous Novels

Her first novel, Ölmeye Yatmak (Lying to Die), came out in 1973. All her books caused a lot of discussion because they explored the big changes happening in Turkish society. Ölmeye Yatmak became part of a series of three novels. The other two were Bir Düğün Gecesi (A Wedding Night) (1979) and Hayır (No) (1989). This series is now known as Dar Zamanlar (Narrow Times).

Her second novel, Fikrimin İnce Gülü (The Delicate Rose of My Mind), was taken off the shelves after its fourth printing. Adalet Ağaoğlu was later cleared of any wrongdoing related to this book.

Later Years and Recognition

After 1983, Adalet Ağaoğlu lived in Istanbul. In 1985, she published Migration Cleanup, a book that mixed memories with a novel. She returned to writing plays in 1991 with Çok Uzak Fazla Yakın (Too Far Too Close). This play won a major literature prize the next year.

In 1996, Adalet Ağaoğlu had a serious car accident and was in the hospital for two years. A famous poet, Can Yücel, once said about her, "You are the most beautiful accident in Turkey." This phrase became the title of a book about her conversations with writer Feridun Andaç.

Her husband, Halim Ağaoğlu, collected all the articles written about her. This collection was published in 2003.

Adalet Ağaoğlu helped start the Human Rights Association in 1986. However, she left the group in 2005 because she felt it had become too one-sided.

In 2018, she received an honorary doctorate from Boğaziçi University. This was to honor her important and original contributions to Turkish literature and culture. After her husband Halim Ağaoğlu passed away in 2018, she announced that she would stop writing.

Her Passing

Adalet Ağaoğlu passed away on July 14, 2020. She was 90 years old. She had been receiving intensive care treatment. Her body was buried in Cebeci Asri Cemetery on July 15.

Awards and Honors

Adalet Ağaoğlu received many awards for her writing and her impact on society.

• In 1995, she received the "Turkish Presidency Merit Award." This was for her ability to show the changes in modern Turkish society through her writing.
• In 1998, she received "Honorary Ph.D." degrees from Anadolu University and Ohio State University.

Her Works

Plays and Radio Dramas

• Yaşamak – 1955
• Evcilik Oyunu – 1964
• Sınırlarda Aşk – 1965
• Çatıdaki Çatlak – 1965
• Tombala – 1967
• Çatıdaki Çatlak 1967
• Sınırlarda Aşk-Kış-Barış 1970
• Üç Oyun: Bir Kahramanın Ölümü, Çıkış, Kozalar 1973
• Kendini Yazan Şarkı 1976
• Duvar Öyküsü 1992
• Çok Uzak-Fazla Yakın 1991

Novels

• Ölmeye Yatmak – 1973
• Fikrimin İnce Gülü – 1976
• Bir Düğün Gecesi – 1979
• Yazsonu – 1980
• Üç Beş Kişi – 1984 (translated as "Curfew: A Novel") ISBN: 0292704798
• Hayır... – 1987
• Ruh Üşümesi – 1991
• Romantik Bir Viyana Yazı – 1993

See also

In Spanish: Adalet Ağaoğlu para niños