Passed away at 92: Renowned author Füruzan laid to rest

Literary figure and author Füruzan, whose real name was Feruze Çerçi, who won the 1972 Sait Faik Short Story Award with her first book 'Parasız Yatılı' (Boarding Student) and contributed works such as 'Gecenin Öteki Yüzü' (The Other Side of the Night), 'Kırkyedililer' (The Forty-Sevens), and 'Benim Sinemalarım' (My Cinemas) to Turkish literature, passed away recently at the hospital where she was receiving treatment.

A farewell ceremony was held for Füruzan, one of the important names in Turkish literature who produced works in the genres of short stories, poetry, novels, travelogues, essays, and children's literature, at the publishing house she was affiliated with in Beyoğlu on February 14, World Short Story Day.

A funeral ceremony was held for the author today at Zincirlikuyu Mosque. Her artist friends and readers attended the ceremony. The author's daughter, Aslı Selçuk, accepted condolences at the ceremony site.

Following the funeral prayer held after the noon prayer, the author Füruzan was laid to rest at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery.

'I AM HAPPY AND PROUD'

Aslı Selçuk, bidding farewell to her mother, said, "I don't actually call this a farewell. She is constantly with us, she is alive. She will continue to live through her works. I even felt that she was watching us during the farewell ceremony we held. She is a very great literary figure; she has a very important place in world and Turkish literature. She may be gone physically, but she is with us through her books. She will continue to reach her readers through her books. I am very happy and proud to have sent my mother off in this way."

Many names from the literary world attended the funeral, including Kenan Kocatürk, Ayşe Sarısayın, Yalvaç Ural, Filiz Ural, Selçuk Erez, Turhan Günay, Metin Celal, Leyla Ruhan Okay, and Talat Parman.

WHO IS FÜRUZAN?

Füruzan was born on October 29, 1939, in Kadıköy, Istanbul. She became the first female author to win the 1972 Sait Faik Short Story Award with her first book, 'Parasız Yatılı'. She won the 1975 TDK Novel Award with her novel 'Kırk Yedi'liler', which describes the March 12 period.

Her short stories have been translated into languages such as French, Spanish, Persian, Italian, Japanese, English, Russian, Bulgarian, and Bosnian. She received honorary awards at the 10th Ankara Short Story Days in 2006, at the Language Association's Language Festival and Antalya Short Story Days in 2007, and at the 7th İzmir Short Story Days in 2008. She was chosen as the Guest of Honor at the 2008 TÜYAP Istanbul Book Fair. In 2009, she was awarded the Turkish Language Service Award by the İzmir branch of the Language Association. In 2017, she was chosen as the Guest of Honor at the 9th Kadıköy Book Days.

The short story 'Ah Güzel İstanbul' (Oh Beautiful Istanbul), which she adapted into a screenplay with Ömer Kavur in 1981, was filmed and won an award at the Antalya Film Festival. In 1986-87, she adapted her short story 'Gecenin Öteki Yüzü' into a screenplay with Okan Uysaler; it was filmed as a TV series on TRT and was chosen as the best series of the year. "Benim Sinemalarım", which she directed between 1988-90, was selected as one of the 8 films out of 158 to be screened after receiving invitations from the "Critics' Week" and "Golden Camera" categories of the 1990 Cannes Film Festival; in 1991, it won the "Best First Film Jury Special Award" from the International Jury at the International Fajr Film Festival in Iran and was included among the "Best Ten Asian Films" selected at the Tokyo International Film Festival.

She adapted her short stories 'Kış Gelmeden' (Before Winter Comes) (1997) and 'Sevda Dolu Bir Yaz' (A Summer Full of Love) (2001) into plays, and these plays were staged approximately 200 times at the State Theatres.

Füruzan passed away on February 11, 2024.