Sait Faik Abasıyanık

Published for the first time in Varlık magazine on Jan. 15, 1936, renowned short story writer Sait Faik Abasıyanık offers a glimpse into the world of an orphan named Trifon in his story "Stelyanos Hrisopulos Gemisi" (The Stelyanos Hrisopulos).

Turkey on May 11 commemorated Sait Faik Abasıyanık, a pioneer in modern Turkish literature, on the 66th anniversary of his death.

Abasıyanık was born on Nov. 18, 1906 in northwestern Sakarya province to businessman Mehmet Faik and Makbule Hanım.

Turkey on Jan. 28 commemorated Özdemir Asaf, a unique poet of contemporary Turkish literature, on the 39th anniversary of his death.

Born in Ankara, the Turkish capital, on June 11, 1923, Asaf was known to be a man with gentle characteristics and love for life.

Burgazada has lost nothing of its tranquil atmosphere in the years that have passed. This peaceful island welcomes you on the docks with the sight of its once-popular hotel Antigoni. The best way to explore the island is to take the words of the famous writer Sait Faik as your guide and plunge into the streets adorned with hundreds of years old mansions.

'Turkey's Ever Present Past: Stories from Turkish Republican History' by Reuben Silverman (Libra Books, 242 pages, $45)

?A Useless Man: Selected Stories? by Sait Faik Abas?yan?k translated by Maureen Freely and Alexander Dawe (Archipelago Books, 240 pages, $18)

One of the world's most prolific screenwriters, Safa Önal, who broke a Guinness World Record in 2004 for having almost 400 scripts filmed, talks about his new projects. It would not come as a shock if one of the world's most prolific screenwriters was found to be working for Hollywood or India's gargantuan Bollywood film industry.