Attila İlhan

Attila Ilhan was born in 1925 in Menemen, Izmir. His innovative spirit and love for literature showed itself early in his youth, when he got into trouble for sending a poem by the then-banned poet Nazim Hikmet to a young woman he was in love with. The incident briefly interrupted his education. Ilhan then entered the Istanbul School of Law, and began writing in several literary journals such as Yigin and Gün. His first poetry book Duvar was published in 1948. He visited Paris for the first time in 1949, and began to divide his time between Paris, Istanbul and Izmir in the 1950s. His observations on French society and intellectual circles created the basis for many characters and events in his subsequent work. He worked as a journalist and columnist for Günes and Meydan newspapers concluding his journalism career at Cumhuriyet. He was the scriptwriter for popular TV shows such as Kartallar Yüksek Uçar and Yarin Artik Bugündür, and hosted his own television show on the Turkish Radio Television (TRT).

Ilhan’s major poetry collections are: Duvar, Sisler Bulvari, Yagmur Kacagi, Bela Çicegi, Tutuklunun Günlügü -winner of the 1974 Turkish Language Association Poetry Award-, Korkunun Kralligi, Kimi Sevsem, Sensin.... His major novels include Sokaktaki Adam, Bicagin Ucu, Sirtlan Payi -winner of the 1975 Yunus Nadi Novel Award-, and Fena Halde Leman.