About Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar

Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar was born in Istanbul on the 23rd of June 1901. His father was a judge, Hüseyin Fikri Efendi. Tanpınar's mother died at Mosul, when Tanpınar was thirteen. Because his father's vocation required frequent relocaton, Tanpınar continued his education in several different cities, including Istanbul, Sinop, Siirt, Kirkuk, and Antalya. After quitting veterinary college, he resumed his educational career at the Faculty of Literature at Istanbul University, which he completed in 1923. As a literature teacher, he taught at high schools in Erzurum (1923 - 1924), Konya, Ankara, the Educational Institute of Gazi and the Fine Arts Academy. At the Fine Arts Academy, besides teaching literature, Tanpınar taught in branches of aesthetics in arts, history of art and mythology (1932 - 1939). From 1942 to 1946, he entered the Turkish National Assembly as parliamentar of Kahramanmaraş. In 1953, he made an extensive journey to Europe, traveling many countries within six months such as France, Belgium, Holland, England, Spain and Italy. Tanpınar died of a heart attack on the January 24, 1962 in Istanbul. His grave is in the Aşiyan Graveyard, Istanbul.

One of his most significant works, among others, is a novel entitled "The Time Regulation Institute" (Saatleri Ayarlama Enstitüsü). The book has been widely acclaimed as an ironic criticism of the bureaucratization process with the implication that its title suggests, though that's not what the book is all about. In fact, the book can be read from quite different perspectives, and cannot be exhausted in only one. First of all, it is a great psychological analysis of a man who suffers from being unable to adapt himself to his time, in other words to modern times. So the fact of bureaucratization is indeed incorporated into a broader problem: modernization and its impact on the individual. Most of the characters of the novel seem to be struggling in quite weird manners in order to survive in modern times. In this way, the concept of "time" occupies a central place, giving a deeper sense, even a philosophical taste to the novel.

Bibliography in Turkish

Poem (Şiirler, 1961)

Story (Abdullah Efendinin Rüyaları, 1943; Yaz Yağmuru, 1955; Hikâyeler, 1983, Dergâh Yay. 2002)

Novel (Huzur, 1949, Dergâh Yay. 2004; Saatleri Ayarlama Enstitüsü, 1962; Sahnenin Dışındakiler, 1973; Mahur Beste, 1975; Aydaki Kadın, 1987)

Essay (Beş Şehir, 1946; Yahya Kemal, 1967; Edebiyat Üzerine Makaleler, 1969; Yaşadığım Gibi, 1970)

Monography (XIX. Asır Türk Edebiyatı Tarihi, 1949)

Beş Şehir (Five Cities) Writings on the cities of Ankara, Erzurum, Konya, Bursa and Istanbul

Bibliography in foreign languages

Novel The Time Regulation Institute (Saatleri Ayarlama Enstitüsü) 1962, A Mind At Peace (Huzur) , 1949 Those Outside The Scene (Sahnenin Dışındakiler) 1973,Mahur Tune (Mahur Beste), 1975,

Story Summer Rain (Yaz Yağmuru), 1955

Rights • France: Actes Sud, 2007; Lebanon: ASP; Albania: Fan Noli