Behçet Necatigil facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Behçet Necatigil
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| Born | 16 April 1916 |
| Died | 13 December 1979 (aged 63) |
| Nationality | Turkish |
| Occupation | Author, poet, translator |
Behçet Necatigil (born Mehmet Behçet Gönül) was an important Turkish poet, teacher, and translator. He was born in Istanbul on April 16, 1916, and passed away there on December 13, 1979. He is known as one of the top poets in modern Turkish poetry.
He didn't join any specific literary group, choosing to be an independent writer and thinker. Besides poetry, he wrote many different kinds of literary works. These included plays for the theater, stories about myths, dictionaries, translated novels, and even radio plays. He helped make radio plays a popular type of literature in Turkey. People often called him the "Poet of Houses" because of his writing style. He was also well-known for his work as a teacher.
About Behçet Necatigil
Behçet Necatigil was born in Istanbul, which was then part of the Ottoman Empire, in 1916. He finished high school at the Teachers' High School (Turkish: İstanbul Yüksek Öğretmen Okulu) in Istanbul in 1940. After that, he worked as a literature teacher at Kabatas Erkek Lisesi until 1972.
His very first poem was printed in a magazine called Varlık in 1935, while he was still in high school. From that time on, he kept writing poetry for more than 40 years. Behçet Necatigil is also famous for his radio dramas, which are plays made for radio.
He also wrote for a literary magazine called Papirüs. This magazine was put together by another famous writer, Cemal Süreya.
In a park in Istanbul called Şairler Sofası (which means "Poets' Sofa"), there are two statues of him. These statues were put there when the park opened in 1998. One is a statue of just him, made by the sculptor Namık Denizhan. The other is the main statue of the park, called Şairler Sofası, made by Gürdal Duyar. In this statue, Behçet Necatigil is shown with seven other poets.
The Necatigil Poetry Award
To remember Behçet Necatigil and his amazing work, an award for poetry was started in 1980. This award is given out every year. At first, it was given on the day he passed away, December 13. But since 1993, it is now given on his birthday, April 16. You can find more information at www.necatigil.com.
A Sample Poem
Here is one of Behçet Necatigil's poems, called "IN LOVE":
IN LOVE
Love, you put off till tomorrow
Timid, reverent, tongue-tied.
Unknown you remained
To all your kin.
Through concerns never ending,
(I know you never wanted it that way)
The feelings that welled in your heart
Never swelled
When a glance was enough to reveal everything.
You expected longer days to come
Speaking of love in minutes was ugly to you
That the years would pass in such a hurry,
In such a fuss never crossed your mind.
In your secret garden
There were flowers
blossoming at night, alone.
You regarded too trifling to give
Or somehow, you hadn’t enough time.
See also
- List of contemporary Turkish poets
