Engin Ardıç

Engin Ardıç is a Turkish writer and journalist who, with the commencement of private television broadcasting in Turkey, also worked as a television commentator in the 1990s.

Biography

He was born in 01 February 1952 in Trabzon, a major coastal city on the northern Black Sea shores of Anatolia. Having moved to Istanbul at a very early age due to his parents' appointment, he passed his childhood mostly in today's central Beşiktaş, around Çarşıiçi locality where he was deeply influenced by the lifestyle of the inhabitants and especially by the slang spoken which would later resurface in his works. His keen interest in linguistics may have its roots in this very early epoch of his life.

In 1959, Ardıç was admitted to the elementary section of the highly praised Galatasaray High School (he would complete all stages of elementary and secondary education in this school) where he learned French and befriended many of today's famous Turkish writers, actors, diplomats and high-ranked officials who were also students at the same institution. His multifaceted life between his education in this reputed boarding school and the streets of his locality gave his style a unique shape which combines, everyday jargon of Istanbul streets and a deep understanding of linguistics.

He relates to these early days of his life in the article "1959" from his book "Kadın Suretleri" (Woman Faces) which gathers his articles published in the Turkish feminine magazine "Elele" (Hand-in-hand). Later, in one of his works, he would define himself as "the last of the long-time extinct urchins of Istanbul streets".

He has succeeded, unlike many of his peers who have been carried away by socialist currents dominant in the Turkish press, to assume a liberal and constructive approach to the right-wing, liberal-conservative governments including the present AK Party government. This position drew the ire of many secular Turkish intellectuals. Due to his liberal stance, he has been accused of being anti-Atatürk, which he vehemently denies. He mocks the so-called "Kemalists" (i.e. puritanical pro-Atatürk communities) in his column with his famous slang language. Because of this language, he is accused of being a misogynist[1] and promoting hate speech.[2]

Following his graduation from Galatasaray High School, Ardıç became a student at Bogazici University, at the department of political sciences. His deep interest in theater stimulated his eagerness to write and his first articles were critiques of theatrical plays written for the magazine "Tiyatro" (Theater), in the early 1970s. He also wrote literary critics in Yeni Dergi (New Magazine), Politika (Politics) and Cumhuriyet (The Republic).

He is currently a columnist in Sabah newspaper.

Bibliography

References

  1. ↑ http://bianet.org/english/gender/128288-storm-of-protest-against-misogynistic-column
  2. ↑ http://www.radikal.com.tr/Radikal.aspx?aType=RadikalYazar&ArticleID=1041846&Yazar=SIRRI%20S%DCREYYA%20%D6NDER&Date=04.03.2011&CategoryID=97