32 years have passed without Rıfat Ilgaz, the great plane tree of our literature

32 years have passed since the death of Rıfat Ilgaz , the master writer of literature who introduced himself by saying, "I am the poet of Sınıf, Mimli, the writer of Hababam Sınıfı. No matter what anyone says, I have always written for children."

The master writer, whose full name was Mehmet Rıfat Ilgaz, was born in Kastamonu on May 7, 1911. Ilgaz, who completed his primary and secondary school education in Kastamonu, graduated from the Muallim Mektebi, where he studied as a boarding student, in 1930.

Ilgaz, who started writing poetry during his student years, also received literature education at the Gazi Education Institute in 1936 and worked as a primary school teacher in Gerede, Akçakoca and Gümüşova for 6 years.

Ilgaz was later appointed to Istanbul and worked as a Turkish teacher at Karagümrük Secondary School and Nişantaşı High School.

RIFAT ILGAZ'S WRITING LIFE

Rıfat Ilgaz, the great plane tree of our literature, is a writer whose contributions to Turkish literature are undeniable.

Rıfat Ilgaz, who wrote his first poem, "In My Beloved's Grave", at the age of 15, had his works published in many magazines such as "Çığır", "Oluş", "Ulus", "Güneş", "Yücel", "Varlık", "Hamle" and "Yeni İnsanlık" in 1940.

Ilgaz, who also studied philosophy, met Hasan Tanrıkut, Sabahattin Kudret Aksal, and Salah Birsel in the 1940s. Ilgaz, who published the "Yürüyüş Magazine" with Ömer Faruk Toprak in 1942, worked with poets such as Orhan Kemal, Sait Faik Abasıyanık, Cahit Irgat, İbrahim Abdülkadir Meriçboyu, and Nâzım Hikmet in this magazine.

Ilgaz's first poetry book, Yarenlik, was published in 1943, and he was sentenced to 6 months in prison for his poetry book, Class, which he wrote in 1944. Ilgaz, who wanted to continue teaching after his release, was forced to quit teaching in 1946 and began working as a journalist.

Ilgaz, who tried to maintain a social realist line in his writings and life, also had his book "Devam" (Continue) confiscated in 1953. Ilgaz, who was prosecuted for his writings and poems, served a sentence of approximately 5 and a half years, but served part of his sentence due to both his illness and the amnesty he received.

While he published the "Gerk Gazetesi" (Gerk Newspaper) with names such as Rıfat Ilgaz, Aziz Nesin and Esat Adil, and later the "Yığıp Magazine", he also worked as the editor-in-chief of the humor magazine "Markopaşa". The master writer, who started writing in the "Adembaba" magazine owned by Necati Sözen in 1952, had his articles published in humor magazines such as "Dolmuş", "Külah" and "Taş", which were popular at the time.

WORKS OF RIFAT ILGAZ

Poem: “As Long As We Live”, “Continue”, “Morning Came in Üsküdar”, “Out of Breath”, “Karakılçık”, “Not Far”, “Does My Pigeon Sleep”, “Our Ears Are on the Beams”, Children’s Garden (children’s poems)

Story: “The Key to the Radar”, “Don Quixote in Istanbul”, “You Should Cut Them Off”, “Take Your Horse”, “Bullshit”, “This Man Has Gone to his Senility”, “Too Bad for You”, “Work Osman, the Farm is Yours”, “The Chaos Class is Awakening”, The Chaos Class is in Raid”, “The Chaos Class Failed”

Novel: “Hababam Class”, “Our Ward”, “On the Shore of the Black Sea”, “Blackout Nights”, “Constitutional Monarchy Coffeehouse”, “Apartment Children”, “Hoca Nasreddin and His Apprentices”

Theatre: “Hababam Class”, “Hababam Class Raid”, “Hababam Class Failed”, “Çatal Mata Kaç Fork”, “Abbas Yola Gien”

Memoir: “Forty Years Ago, Forty Years Later”, “Uphill”, “We Lived Too”

Children's Literature: "Legless Truck Driver", "Legless School", "Legless Paid Athlete", "Orphan Chick", "Küçükçekmece Ocean", "Lifeguard Yılmaz", "From Sand to Concrete"

Ilgaz, who was deeply saddened by the news that many people, including his close friend Asım Bezirci, were murdered in the July 2 Sivas Massacre, passed away at his home 5 days later, on July 7, 1993, and was buried next to Asım Bezirci in Zincirlikuyu Cemetery.