18 Facts About Aziz Nesin

1.

Aziz Nesin wrote under more than fifty noms de plume, such as the pseudonym "Vedia Nesin", his first wife's name, which he used for love poems published in the magazine Yedigun.

2.

Aziz Nesin was born in 1917 on Heybeliada, one of the Princes' Islands of Istanbul, in the days of the Ottoman Empire.

3.

Aziz Nesin was jailed several times and placed under surveillance by the National Security Service for his political views.

4.

Aziz Nesin provided a strong indictment of the oppression and brutalization of the common man.

5.

Aziz Nesin satirized bureaucracy and "exposed economic inequities in stories that effectively combine local color and universal truths".

6.

Aziz Nesin has been presented with numerous awards in Turkey, Italy, Bulgaria and the former Soviet Union.

7.

Aziz Nesin's works have been translated into over thirty languages.

8.

The purpose of the Aziz Nesin Foundation is to take, each year, four poor and destitute children into the Foundation's home and provide every necessity - shelter, education and training, starting from elementary school - until they complete high school, a trade school, or until they acquire a vocation.

9.

Aziz Nesin donated to the Nesin Foundation his copyrights in their entirety for all his works in Turkey or other countries, including all of his published books, all plays to be staged, all copyrights for documentars, and all his works performed or used in radio or television.

10.

Aziz Nesin devoted his last years to combating religious fundamentalism.

11.

Aziz Nesin died on 11 July 1995 in Cesme, Izmir, due to a heart attack.

12.

Several of Aziz Nesin's works have been published in English translation.

13.

Istanbul Boy: The Autobiography of Aziz Nesin is a multi-volume autobiography by Turkish writer Aziz Nesin published by University of Texas Press and Southmoor Studios, in English language translation by Joseph S Jacobson.

14.

Turkish Stories from Four Decades is a 1991 short story collection by Turkish writer Aziz Nesin published by Three Continents Press, in English language translation by Louis Mitler.

15.

Dog Tails is a long story collection by Turkish writer Aziz Nesin republished in 2000 by Southmoor Studios, in Spanish language translation by Joseph S Jacobson.

16.

Hayri the Barber Surname is a novel by Turkish writer Aziz Nesin republished in 2001 by Southmoor Studios, in English language translation by Joseph S Jacobson.

17.

The Dance of the Eagle and the Fish is a children's book adapted by English writer Alison Boyle from the short story of the same name by Turkish writer Aziz Nesin and published in 2001 by Milet Books, in English language translation by Ruth Christie.

18.

Socialism Is Coming: Stand Aside is a short story collection by Turkish writer Aziz Nesin republished in 2002 by Southmoor Studios, in English language translation by Joseph S Jacobson.