Ismet Özel
Encyclopedia
İsmet Özel is a Turkish
poet
and scholar.
. He attended his primary and secondary school in Kastamonu
, Çankırı
and Ankara
. He attended classes at Political Science
Faculty of Ankara University
, but graduated from the French Language
department of Hacettepe University
.
. Özel's songs of freedom
derived its content from socialism
but their structure
and symbol
ism reflected the tastes of the Second New Generation movement in Turkish poetry
. In the 1970s, Özel developed a mystic
and Islamist view which shocked his leftist audience.
He worked as a French lecturer
in the State Conservatory. He spent all his time writing after he retired. Because of both his interesting character and works, he took an impressive place among his contemporaries.
Özel, who published his early poems in 1963, became salient with densely using images and his meticulous effort to choose words. He collected his early poems in the book called Geceleyin Bir Koşu (A Run in the Night, 1966), in which he searches the truth
of being human
. His attributions about gathering the innovations and experimental
sides of Turkish Poetry with social realism
and his success to realize it caused to his second book called Evet İsyan (Yes, Rebel
, 1969) made big echoes.
In 1970, he published Halkın Dostları review with Ataol Behramoğlu
. In fact, Ataol Behramoğlu purified his poetry by leaving out crude propaganda and naive didacticism
. İsmet Özel, perhaps the most talented of the group, turned to Islam for inspiration, but preserved the revolutionary bravura of his Marxist days. In following years, İsmet Özel experienced great changes in his political and philosophical approaches, and dedicated himself to the Islamic thought.
When asked by his friend Murat Belge
, a noted socialist intellectual
, the reason for his conversion, Özel replied, "a man looks either after his freedom or his security, but he cannot acquire one without the other. All my life has been a search for ontological
security. I am convinced that I found this security in the Qur'an
. Islam is a healing for me. Those who either have no wounds or are not aware of their wounds will have no need for this healing." However, Özel is convinced that mankind is sick. In Three Problems: Technology, Civilization and Alienation and in To Speak in Difficult Times and also It Is Prohibited to Eat the Stones, Özel argues that mankind is from an acute alienation
which is a result of destructive technology
, artificial division of man and nature, and the enlightened principles of Islam which emphasize the synthesis of the sacred and the profane is the only medicine available for this disease. Three Problems is one of the most influential books of recent times in Turkey.
Another following twenty years, he claimed that he broke the ties with the Islamic Media. His third work called Cinayetler Kitabı (The Book of Murders, 1975) was a perfect example of his quality in writing poems which it emphasizes the dedication to his early works.
In addition to putting his understanding of poetry, the book called Şiir Okuma Kılavuzu (The Handbook of Reading a Poem, 1980) also points an still being a research field: the contemporary position of Turkish Poetry.
In the book called Celladıma Gülümserken (When I Smile at My Executioner, 1984), the main borders of İsmet Özel’s poetic world clarified, he collected all his poems in the book Erbain / Kırk Yılın Şiirleri (Erbain - The Poems of 40 Years, 1987).
Except newspaper works, starting from 1960, he published his poems and works in Devinim 60, Papirüs, Yeni Dergi, Şiir Sanatı, Halkın Dostları (1964-71), Diriliş, Mavera, Gösteri, etc.
The most notable of these is undoubtedly the column he had in newspapers of Yeni Devir (1977-79 and 1981-82), beginning from 1981-82 / 1985 partially in the Millî Gazete, moreover also in the Yeni Şafak
newspaper.
Both in these works and his first essay book called Üç Mesele (In Three Problems: Technology, Civilization and Alienation) (1978), he defended that Muslim
s had to be dependent to the Islamic sources itself. He claimed that this is the most realistic and rightful effort in the conditions that is far and away from Islamic Sources.
He won the Writers’ Union Turkey’s Essay Award (1985) and Chile
an poet Gabriela Mistral
Award (1995) with his book Taşları Yemek Yasak (It Is Prohibited to Eat the Stones).
He told his views about intellectual agenda in the television program İsmet Özel'le Başbaşa (Alone with İsmet Özel) which was hosted by İsmail Kara on Channel 7
.
Özel has aimed at a new awareness of social responsibilities. In the 1970s, he adopted a mystical view of life without losing the strength of expression and inventiveness which he had evolved during his socialist period.
He has drawn upon his knowledge of Western philosophy
, Marxist sociology
, and radical
Islamist political theory to advocate a modern Islamic perspective that does not hesitate to criticize genuine societal ills while simultaneously remaining faithful to the ethical values and spiritual dimensions of religion
.
Özel, a Marxist convert to Islam
: "I did not consider myself a part of the society
I was in—but as a candidate for the courageous and uncompromising defense of the cause of the just."
Ismet Özel, an ex-Marxist convert and the most prominent Islamist intellectual, argued that it was Atatürk's reforms that, ironically Islamicized Turkey by forcing people to internalize and value their religious identity and not simply take it for granted as in the past.
He wrote a poem titled, Of not being a Jew, in which he lamented the fact that he felt like a pursued Jew, but had no second country to go to. "Your load is heavy / He's very heavy / Just because he's your brother / Your brothers are your pogroms / When you reach the doorsteps of your friends / Starts your Diaspora
," he wrote.
"As a political system
in Turkey, socialism
is possible, Turkism
is probable, Islam
is certain", however in a recent article he defended the isolation of Muslims from the society unless they adapt to the secular democracy, and emphasized Islam as a political system in Turkey is dead
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and scholar.
Early years
Özel is the sixth child of a police officer from SökeSöke
Söke is a town and a large district of Aydın Province in the Aegean region of western Turkey, south-west of the city of Aydın, near the Aegean coast. It had 68,020 population in 2010.- Geography :...
. He attended his primary and secondary school in Kastamonu
Kastamonu
Kastamonu is the capital district of the Kastamonu Province, Turkey. According to the 2000 census, population of the district is 102,059 of which 64,606 live in the urban center of Kastamonu. The district covers an area of , and the town lies at an elevation of...
, Çankırı
Çankırı
-Agriculture:Various produce like wheat, corn, beans, apple etc. are grown in the farms, and fields that are rich of water.-Industry:Most of the industry is located near the city center and Korgun. Other towns that are in the industrial map of the city are Şabanözü, Çerkeş, Ilgaz, Kurşunlu, and...
and Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
. He attended classes at Political Science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
Faculty of Ankara University
Ankara University
Ankara University is a public university in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey. It was the first higher education institution founded in the Turkish Republic....
, but graduated from the French Language
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
department of Hacettepe University
Hacettepe University
Hacettepe University is a major state university in Ankara, Turkey.The University has two main campuses. The first is located in the old town of Ankara and hosts the Medical Centre, and the second is the Beytepe Campus, which is 13 km from the city centre...
.
Career
Özel published Halkın Dostları magazine with Ataol BehramoğluAtaol Behramoglu
Ataol Behramoğlu [* April 13, 1942 Çatalca near Istanbul].Is a prominent Turkish poet, translator and author.- Life :Ataol Behramoğlu graduated from the University of Ankara, Department of Russian Language and Literature in 1966. In 1970 he published his second book of verse “One Day Definitely”...
. Özel's songs of freedom
Liberty
Liberty is a moral and political principle, or Right, that identifies the condition in which human beings are able to govern themselves, to behave according to their own free will, and take responsibility for their actions...
derived its content from socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
but their structure
Structure
Structure is a fundamental, tangible or intangible notion referring to the recognition, observation, nature, and permanence of patterns and relationships of entities. This notion may itself be an object, such as a built structure, or an attribute, such as the structure of society...
and symbol
Symbol
A symbol is something which represents an idea, a physical entity or a process but is distinct from it. The purpose of a symbol is to communicate meaning. For example, a red octagon may be a symbol for "STOP". On a map, a picture of a tent might represent a campsite. Numerals are symbols for...
ism reflected the tastes of the Second New Generation movement in Turkish poetry
Poetry of the Republic of Turkey
Poetry of the Republic of Turkey covers the "Turkish Poetry" beginning with 1911 with the national literature movement.In the early years of the Republic of Turkey, there were a number of poetic trends...
. In the 1970s, Özel developed a mystic
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
and Islamist view which shocked his leftist audience.
He worked as a French lecturer
Lecturer
Lecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, lecturer is a position at a university or similar institution, often held by academics in their early career stages, who lead research groups and supervise research students, as well as teach...
in the State Conservatory. He spent all his time writing after he retired. Because of both his interesting character and works, he took an impressive place among his contemporaries.
Özel, who published his early poems in 1963, became salient with densely using images and his meticulous effort to choose words. He collected his early poems in the book called Geceleyin Bir Koşu (A Run in the Night, 1966), in which he searches the truth
Truth
Truth has a variety of meanings, such as the state of being in accord with fact or reality. It can also mean having fidelity to an original or to a standard or ideal. In a common usage, it also means constancy or sincerity in action or character...
of being human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
. His attributions about gathering the innovations and experimental
Experimental literature
Experimental literature refers to written works - often novels or magazines - that place great emphasis on innovations regarding technique and style.-Early history:...
sides of Turkish Poetry with social realism
Social realism
Social Realism, also known as Socio-Realism, is an artistic movement, expressed in the visual and other realist arts, which depicts social and racial injustice, economic hardship, through unvarnished pictures of life's struggles; often depicting working class activities as heroic...
and his success to realize it caused to his second book called Evet İsyan (Yes, Rebel
Rebellion
Rebellion, uprising or insurrection, is a refusal of obedience or order. It may, therefore, be seen as encompassing a range of behaviors aimed at destroying or replacing an established authority such as a government or a head of state...
, 1969) made big echoes.
In 1970, he published Halkın Dostları review with Ataol Behramoğlu
Ataol Behramoglu
Ataol Behramoğlu [* April 13, 1942 Çatalca near Istanbul].Is a prominent Turkish poet, translator and author.- Life :Ataol Behramoğlu graduated from the University of Ankara, Department of Russian Language and Literature in 1966. In 1970 he published his second book of verse “One Day Definitely”...
. In fact, Ataol Behramoğlu purified his poetry by leaving out crude propaganda and naive didacticism
Didacticism
Didacticism is an artistic philosophy that emphasizes instructional and informative qualities in literature and other types of art. The term has its origin in the Ancient Greek word διδακτικός , "related to education/teaching." Originally, signifying learning in a fascinating and intriguing...
. İsmet Özel, perhaps the most talented of the group, turned to Islam for inspiration, but preserved the revolutionary bravura of his Marxist days. In following years, İsmet Özel experienced great changes in his political and philosophical approaches, and dedicated himself to the Islamic thought.
When asked by his friend Murat Belge
Murat Belge
Murat Belge is an outspoken left-liberal Turkish intellectual, academic, translator, literary critic, columnist, civil rights activist, and occasional bull fighter.- Career :...
, a noted socialist intellectual
Intellectual
An intellectual is a person who uses intelligence and critical or analytical reasoning in either a professional or a personal capacity.- Terminology and endeavours :"Intellectual" can denote four types of persons:...
, the reason for his conversion, Özel replied, "a man looks either after his freedom or his security, but he cannot acquire one without the other. All my life has been a search for ontological
Ontology
Ontology is the philosophical study of the nature of being, existence or reality as such, as well as the basic categories of being and their relations...
security. I am convinced that I found this security in the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
. Islam is a healing for me. Those who either have no wounds or are not aware of their wounds will have no need for this healing." However, Özel is convinced that mankind is sick. In Three Problems: Technology, Civilization and Alienation and in To Speak in Difficult Times and also It Is Prohibited to Eat the Stones, Özel argues that mankind is from an acute alienation
Marx's theory of alienation
Marx's theory of alienation , as expressed in the writings of the young Karl Marx , refers to the separation of things that naturally belong together, or to put antagonism between things that are properly in harmony...
which is a result of destructive technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
, artificial division of man and nature, and the enlightened principles of Islam which emphasize the synthesis of the sacred and the profane is the only medicine available for this disease. Three Problems is one of the most influential books of recent times in Turkey.
Another following twenty years, he claimed that he broke the ties with the Islamic Media. His third work called Cinayetler Kitabı (The Book of Murders, 1975) was a perfect example of his quality in writing poems which it emphasizes the dedication to his early works.
In addition to putting his understanding of poetry, the book called Şiir Okuma Kılavuzu (The Handbook of Reading a Poem, 1980) also points an still being a research field: the contemporary position of Turkish Poetry.
In the book called Celladıma Gülümserken (When I Smile at My Executioner, 1984), the main borders of İsmet Özel’s poetic world clarified, he collected all his poems in the book Erbain / Kırk Yılın Şiirleri (Erbain - The Poems of 40 Years, 1987).
Except newspaper works, starting from 1960, he published his poems and works in Devinim 60, Papirüs, Yeni Dergi, Şiir Sanatı, Halkın Dostları (1964-71), Diriliş, Mavera, Gösteri, etc.
The most notable of these is undoubtedly the column he had in newspapers of Yeni Devir (1977-79 and 1981-82), beginning from 1981-82 / 1985 partially in the Millî Gazete, moreover also in the Yeni Şafak
Yeni Safak
- Columnists :...
newspaper.
Both in these works and his first essay book called Üç Mesele (In Three Problems: Technology, Civilization and Alienation) (1978), he defended that Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s had to be dependent to the Islamic sources itself. He claimed that this is the most realistic and rightful effort in the conditions that is far and away from Islamic Sources.
He won the Writers’ Union Turkey’s Essay Award (1985) and Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an poet Gabriela Mistral
Gabriela Mistral
Gabriela Mistral was the pseudonym of Lucila de María del Perpetuo Socorro Godoy Alcayaga, a Chilean poet, educator, diplomat, and feminist who was the first Latin American to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, in 1945...
Award (1995) with his book Taşları Yemek Yasak (It Is Prohibited to Eat the Stones).
He told his views about intellectual agenda in the television program İsmet Özel'le Başbaşa (Alone with İsmet Özel) which was hosted by İsmail Kara on Channel 7
Channel 7
Channel 7 may refer to:*Channel 7 , the musician previously known as 7 Aurelius.*Seven Network, an Australian television network,*Seven , an independent local station in North and North East Lincolnshire, England, formerly known as Channel 7 Television.*Channel 7 , a television station in...
.
Özel has aimed at a new awareness of social responsibilities. In the 1970s, he adopted a mystical view of life without losing the strength of expression and inventiveness which he had evolved during his socialist period.
He has drawn upon his knowledge of Western philosophy
Western philosophy
Western philosophy is the philosophical thought and work of the Western or Occidental world, as distinct from Eastern or Oriental philosophies and the varieties of indigenous philosophies....
, Marxist sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
, and radical
Radicalization
Radicalization is the process in which an individual changes from passiveness or activism to become more revolutionary, militant or extremist. Radicalization is often associated with youth, adversity, alienation, social exclusion, poverty, or the perception of injustice to self or others.-...
Islamist political theory to advocate a modern Islamic perspective that does not hesitate to criticize genuine societal ills while simultaneously remaining faithful to the ethical values and spiritual dimensions of religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
.
Özel, a Marxist convert to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
: "I did not consider myself a part of the society
Society
A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...
I was in—but as a candidate for the courageous and uncompromising defense of the cause of the just."
Ismet Özel, an ex-Marxist convert and the most prominent Islamist intellectual, argued that it was Atatürk's reforms that, ironically Islamicized Turkey by forcing people to internalize and value their religious identity and not simply take it for granted as in the past.
He wrote a poem titled, Of not being a Jew, in which he lamented the fact that he felt like a pursued Jew, but had no second country to go to. "Your load is heavy / He's very heavy / Just because he's your brother / Your brothers are your pogroms / When you reach the doorsteps of your friends / Starts your Diaspora
Diaspora
A diaspora is "the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland" or "people dispersed by whatever cause to more than one location", or "people settled far from their ancestral homelands".The word has come to refer to historical mass-dispersions of...
," he wrote.
"As a political system
Political system
A political system is a system of politics and government. It is usually compared to the legal system, economic system, cultural system, and other social systems...
in Turkey, socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
is possible, Turkism
Pan-Turkism
Pan-Turkism is a nationalist movement that emerged in 1880s among the Turkic intellectuals of the Russian Empire, with the aim of cultural and political unification of all Turkic peoples.-Name:...
is probable, Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
is certain", however in a recent article he defended the isolation of Muslims from the society unless they adapt to the secular democracy, and emphasized Islam as a political system in Turkey is dead
Poetry
- Geceleyin Bir Koşu (A Run in the Night)
- Evet, İsyan (Yes, Rebel)
- Cinayetler Kitabı (The Book of Murders)
- Celladıma Gülümserken (When I Smile at My Executioner)
- Erbain (The poems of 40 Years)
- Bir Yusuf Masalı (A Fairytale About Yusuf)
- Çatlıycak Kadar Aşkî
- Of Not Being A Jew
Books
- Üç Mesele
- Zor Zamanda Konuşmak
- Taşları Yemek Yasak (It is Prohibited to Eat the Stones)
- Bakanlar ve Görenler
- Faydasız Yazılar
- İrtica Elden Gidiyor
- Surat Asmak Hakkımız
- Tehdit Değil Teklif
- Waldo Sen Neden Burada Değilsin?
- Sorulunca Söylenen
- Cuma Mektupları - 1
- Cuma Mektupları - 2
- Cuma Mektupları - 3
- Cuma Mektupları - 4
- Cuma Mektupları - 5
- Cuma Mektupları - 6
- Cuma Mektupları - 7
- Cuma Mektupları - 8
- Cuma Mektupları - 9
- Cuma Mektupları - 10
- Tahrir Vazifeleri
- Neyi Kaybettiğini Hatırla
- Ve'l-Asr
- Tavşanın Randevusu
- Bilinç Bile İlginç
- Şiir Okuma Kılavuzu
- 40 Hadis
- Henry Sen Neden Buradasın-1
- Henry Sen Neden Buradasın-2
- Kalıntürk
- Çenebazlık
- Şairin Devriye Nöbeti 1 - Tok Kurda Puslu Hava
- Şairin Devriye Nöbeti 2 - Bileşenleriyle Basit
- Şairin Devriye Nöbeti 3 - Neredeyizim
- Şairin Devriye Nöbeti 4 - Ebruli Külah
- Şairin Devriye Nöbeti 5 - Evet mi Hayır mı? Sınıf Savaşı Evet Milli Mücadele Hayır
Interview and Letters
- Sorulunca Söylenen
- Genç Bir Şairden Genç Bir Şaire Mektuplar (Letters from a Young Poet to a Young Poet, correspondence with Ataol Behramoğlu, 1995),
Translations
- Siyasi Felsefenin Büyük Düşünürleri
- Gariplerin Kitabı
- Osmanlı İmparatorlugu ve İslami Gelenek
- Bilim Kutsal Bir İnektir