Author • Turkish literature

Haydar Ergülen

He was born in 1956 in Eskişehir. After studying Sociology at METU, he pursued a master’s degree in Advertising at Anadolu University. He worked as a copywriter and taught advertising, creative writing, and Turkish poetry at universities. His first poem was published in Felsefe magazine in 1978. His poetry appeared in numerous magazines, including Somut, Adam Sanat, No, Öküz, Sombahar, Yaşasın Edebiyat, Yazko Edebiyat, Türk Dili, Yusufçuk, Yarın, Yeni Biçem, Gösteri, and Varlık. In 1983, he co-founded Üç Çiçek magazine, contributed to Şiir Atı (1986), and wrote for newspapers. His poems have also been published in English, French, German, and Italian. His debut book Karşılığını Bulamamış Sorular (1981), was followed by poetry books like Karton Valiz (1999), Aşk Şiirleri Antolojisi (2011), İdilikler (2019), Zarf (2019), Öyle Küçük Şeyler (2019), Kabareden Emekli Bir ‘Kızkardeş’ (2021), Sen Güneş Kokuyorsun Daha! (2022), and Karşılığını Bulamamış Sorular (2022). He received the 1996 Behçet Necatigil Poetry Award and the 1998 Mediterranean Golden Orange Poetry Award for 40 Şiir ve Bir, the 2005 Cemal Süreya Poetry Award for Keder Gibi Ödünç, the 2008 Metin Altıok Poetry Award for Üzgün Kediler Gazeli, and the 2022 Vedat Türkali Award for his entire body of work. He has written numerous essay collections, including Düz Yazı: 100 Yazı (2006), Trenler de Ahşaptır (2011), İnce Tren (2018), Tuhafiye (2019), Çerçöp Öteberi Denemeleri (2020), Yüzeysel Toplumsal Tipikler (2022), and Yayan Yapıldak (2022), as well as children’s books such as Nar Alfabesi (2012) and Uykucu Şiirler (2018). His latest poetry collection is Kuşların Göğü Önünde (2022), and his most recent essay collection is İkinci Yeni Neyimiz Olur? (2023). For the “Bridge Books” collection of Günışığı Kitaplığı, he wrote Oh, My Blue Dad (Şu Benim Mavi Babam, 2022), where he reflects on his childhood and youth. A devoted Eskişehir native and football fan, Ergülen lives in İstanbul with his wife and daughter.