Novelist Peride Celal dies aged 97

ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News

Peride Celal was one of the prominent names of Turkish literature.

One of the big names of Turkish literature, Peride Celal has died at the age of 97, Can Publishing House announced yesterday in a written statement.

Born in 1915 in Istanbul, Celal used the pen names P. Gencay, Peride Gencay Bayburtlu and Peride Celal in her career. After finishing Haydarpasa Primary School, she studied in Istanbul Saint Pulcherie for Girls for two years but dropped out before graduating. Her first short story was “Ak Kız,” published in Yedigün in 1935. In 1944, she went to Switzerland to work as an assistant at the Press Office in Bern. Upon her return to Turkey, she worked at the governments press and publishing agency “Basın Yayın Kurumu” and the newspaper “Yeni Istanbul.”

Her literary career can be divided into two parts. During the first half, she wrote mostly romantic novels. During the second half, she focused on the twisted and corrupt lives of the Turkish bourgeoisie.

She was the guest of honor at 15th Istanbul International Book Fair in 1996. Her novel “Kızıl Vazo” was adapted for the cinema with two different scripts by Atıf Yılmaz in 1961 and 1969. Another novel of hers, “Yıldıztepe” was adapted to the screen in 1965 by Memduh Ün, and her short story “Ada” by Süreyya Duru in 1988.

She won the Sedat Simav Literray Award in 1977 with her novel “Üç Yirmi Dört Saat” and the Orhan Kemal Novel Award in 1991 with “Kurtlar.”

There are two books written about Celal: “Peride Celal’e Armağan” by Selim İleri and “Çok Katmanlı Duyarlıklar Yazarı: Peride Celal” by Alpay Kabacalı.