Name Ayse Kulin Education Robert College | Role Novelist Movies Bir Kirik Bebek | |
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Children Mete Sarper, Kerim Kemahli, Selim Kemahli, Ali Sarper Parents Muhittin Kulin, Sitare Hanim Books Farewell: A Mansion in Occupied, Last train to Istanbul, Adi: Aylin, Kopru, Umut Similar People Ahmet Umit, Elif Safak, Canan Tan, Ece Temelkuran, Nazim Hikmet | ||
Turkish writer Ayşe Kulin is speaking about her book Last Train to İstanbul
Ayşe Kulin (born 26 August 1941 in İstanbul) is a Turkish female short story writer, screenwriter and novelist.
Contents
Discover Istanbul with Ayşe Kulin
Biography
Kulin was born in Turkey in 1941. Her father, Muhittin Kulin, of Bosniak origin, was one of the first civil engineers in Turkey who founded the State Hydraulic Works (DSİ); he was soon appointed first director of this institution. Her mother Sitare Hanım, a Circassian, was the granddaughter of one of the Ottoman economy ministers.
Kulin graduated in literature from the American College for Girls in Arnavutköy, Istanbul. She released a collection of short stories titled Güneşe Dön Yüzünü in 1984. A short story from this called Gülizar was made into a film titled Kırık Bebek in 1986, for which she won a screenplay award from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Kulin worked as a screenwriter, cinematographer and producer for many films, television series and advertisements. In 1986, she won the "Best Cinematographer Award" from the Theatre Writers Association for her work in the television series Ayaşlı ve Kiracıları.
In 1996, she wrote a biography of Münir Nurettin Selçuk titled Bir Tatlı Huzur. With a short story called Foto Sabah Resimleri she won the "Haldun Taner Short Story Award" the same year, and the "Sait Faik Short Story Award" the next year. In 1997, she was honored as the "Writer of the Year" by the İstanbul Communication Faculty for her biographical novel Adı Aylin, She won the same award the next year for her short story Geniş Zamanlar. In November 1999, she wrote a novel called Sevdalinka about the Bosnian War and in 2000, a biographical novel called Füreyya. In June 2001, she put out a novel titled Köprü about drama in Turkey's eastern provinces and how they shaped the republic's early history.
In May 2002, Kulin wrote a novel titled Nefes Nefes'e about the Turkish diplomats, who saved the lives of Jews during the holocaust in World War II.
She has married twice, her latest novels Hayat and Hüzün describe her life with her spouses, Mehmet Sarper and Eren Kemahli. Both ended in divorce but she bore four sons from the marriages.
Armenian Genocide
In a television interview, Kulin refers to the Armenian Genocide as a "relocation event" ("bir tehcir olayıdır") and thus it could not be compared to the Holocaust. Following her remarks, a petition was created, which called for a boycott of her books. Later she added to her statement about the Armenian Genocide, saying her original interview been edited, and apologized to the Turkish Armenian community if she was "misunderstood", but still insisting that there was not a genocide, but massacres in which Armenians died fighting Turks during a war.