Murathan Mungan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Murathan Mungan (born April 21, 1955 in Istanbul) is a Turkish author, playwright and poet of Kurdish origin.

[edit] Biography

His family originates from Mardin. After completing his B.A. degree in the Faculty of Letters and Drama department at Ankara University, he worked as a dramaturg before devoting all his time to write poetry, plays, short stories, novels, film scenarios and songs. His first collection of poems, Osmanlıya Dair Hikayat (Stories about Ottomans) was published in 1980, making Mungan an overnight success.

His output remained prolific and various poetry books followed, notably Yaz Gecer:Summer passes and Heavy Metal. He has written 4 theatre plays, which earned him wider success. Mahmud and Yezida Taziye are the most staged plays of the modern Turkish theatre.

His short stories were compiled in successful volumes such as Kirk oda (Forty rooms) and Paranin cinleri (Genies of the money). Mungan wrote a film scenario called Dagınık Yatak (Messy Bed), which was filmed by Atif Yilmaz in 1986 starring Turkish feminist actress Müjde Ar.

Mungan wrote lyrics to the songs of Turkish band Yeni Türkü and singers like Nukhet Duru. His latest works are as compiler of short stories about women and men by various authors.

Openly gay, Mungan has been one of the few symbols of the Turkish gay movement.