Fakir Baykurt (real name Tahir, born 15 June 1929; Yeşilova, Burdur – died 11 October 1999, Essen), Turkish writer and trade unionist. His novel, The Snake's Revenge, which tells about village life, is a work that has become one of the classics of Turkish literature. His works have been translated into many languages, especially Bulgarian and Russian. Baykurt was the chairman of the Turkish Teachers' Union and the Turkish Teachers' Associations National Federation.
He was born in 1929 in Akçaköy, a district of Burdur's Yeşilova district. Her mother's name is Elif and her father's name is Veli. Although his exact date of birth is not known, it is thought to be mid-June 1929 with the following words: “It is true that I was born in 1929. The month, the day was unknown. We talked to my mother. Sickle season in the village. He came home with pain in the field. It is mid-June…” He was given the name "Tahir", the name of his uncle who was shot in the wars by his father and did not return.
He started Akçaköy Primary School in 1936. He lost his father two years later and left his education unfinished and started weaving with his uncle living in Burhaniye, Balikesir. II. When World War II began, he had the opportunity to return to his village and continue school after his uncle was drafted into the military. On the one hand, he worked as a farmhand, shepherd, waterman, and village clerk and completed his education in his own village after three years of interruption. He started writing poetry while he was at the Gönen Village Institute, which he enrolled in 1942.
He continued his secondary education at Gönen Village Institute. His interest in poetry increased during his years at the village institute. His first poem, Basil Kolum, was published in the journal Türke Doğru published in Eskişehir. His poems were published in the journals of Köy Enstitüleri and Kaynak in 1947. During these years, he used the name Fakir Baykurt in his poems and later in all his writings.
He completed his secondary education in 1948 and became a village teacher. He worked as a primary school teacher in Kavacık and Dereköy villages of Yeşilova district for five years. During this period, he organized the Aegean and Lakes Region Turkish Village Teacher Associations Federation with his friends. He married Muzaffer Hanım in 1951. From this marriage, their daughters Işık (b. 1957) and Sönmez (b.1958) and son Tonguç (1962) were born.
He died on Monday, October 11, 1999, at the Essen University Clinic in Germany, where he was treated, succumbing to pancreatic cancer. He was brought to his country and buried in Zincirlikuyu Cemetery.
his novels
- 1954: Vengeance of the Snakes
- 1961: Dirtiness of Irazca
- 1961: Tenth Village
- 1967: American Wrap
- 1970: Scythe
- 1973: the Köygöçür
- 1975: Partridge
- 1977: Black Ahmet Epic
- 1977: Plateau
- 1983: Blast Furnaces
- 1986: Big Rhine
- 1997: Half bread
- 1980: Turtles
stories
- 1955: Freckled
- 1959: War of the Lordship
- 1961: Abdominal Pain
- 1964: Muhammad the Dwarf
- 1970: Anadolu Garage
- 1971: Tens of Thousands of Carts
- 1973: Life Money
- 1974: The Inner Son
- 1975: Dead on the Border
- 1982: The Night Shift
- 1982: Peace Donut
- 1986: Duirsbug Train
- 1992: Our Slim Girls
- 1998: Barbed Wire
Society and Education Articles
- 1960: Efkar Hill
- 1976: The Shamaroglans
- 1974: Kerem and Asli
- 1978: Castle Castle
- 1980: The Turtles
Children's books
- Lame Friend
- I burned Ali
- Clumsily
- Yellow Dog
- 1985: Miss World
- 1985: goldfinch
Poem
- One Long Way
- Poems Flowing to Friendship
Receives awards
- 1958: Yunus Nadi Award Winner – (Vogue of the Snakes)
- 1970: TRT Art Awards (Scythe)
- 1970: TRT Art Awards (Dead on the Border)
- 1971: Turkish Language Association Novel Award (Tırpan)
- 1974: Sait Faik Story Gift (Life Money)
- 1978: Orhan Kemal Novel Gift (Black Ahmet Epic)
- 1979: theater 79 Game of the Year Award by Magazine (Sakarca)
- 1980: Avni Dilligil Theater Award (Scythe)
- 1984: Berlin Senate Prize for Children's Literature (Peace Donut)
- 1985: German Industry Association (BDI) Summer Award (Night Shift)
- 1997: Sedat Simavi Literature Award (Half Bread)
- 1998: Life Radio Respect to Masters Honorary Award
- 1999: Pir Sultan Abdal Association Award