About
Turkish poet, novelist, essayist, journalist and leftist activist. He remained a vigilant activist for kemalism and socialism, and faced constant persecution for his writings and beliefs.
Before Fame
At age 16, he was studying at İzmir Atatürk High School when he sent a girl he had a crush on a poem by Nazim Hikmet, a dissident communist Turkish poet. For this, he was arrested and jailed for three months, and forbidden from attending school.
Trivia
Throughout the 50's and 60's, he constantly travelled along an İstanbul-Paris-İzmir triangle, but after his father's death, he remained in İzmir for eight years, serving as the editorial writer and editor-in-chief of the Democratic İzmir newspaper.
Family Life
His father, Muharrem Bedrettin İlhan, worked as a public prosecutor and governor, and his younger brother became famous Turkish actor Çolpan İlhan.
Associated With
He was married to Biket İlhan from 1968 to 1983.
