Mahmut Makal

Mahmut Makal (1930, Gülağaç, Aksaray – August 10, 2018, Ankara) was a Turkish writer, poet and teacher who initiated the "Village Literature" movement in 1950 with the publication of his book ‘Bizim Köy’ (Our Village).

Makal was born in the hamlet of Demirci in the Gülağaç district of Aksaray in 1930. In 1943, he began studying literature and poetry at the Ivriz Village Institute. His poems were first published in 1945 in the magazine "Türk'e Doğru" and in 1946 in the "Köy Enstitüsü" magazine, and he attracted wider notice with his Village Notes in Varlık magazine.

After graduating from the Ivriz Village Institute in 1947, he worked as a village teacher for 6 years. In 1950, his observations from these years of teaching were published in a book called ‘Bizim Köy’ (Our Village), the first work of the village literature movement. It aroused very strong reactions across Turkey, and led to Makal being arrested and held in prison for a while.

He enrolled at the Ankara Gazi Institute in 1953 and also visited France to undertake research at the European Sociology Center. In the 1965 elections he was a candidate in Istanbul for the Workers Party of Turkey. He then worked as an inlet or of primary schools in Antalya, Ankara and Adana regions. In 1971, he left this job and taught Turkish at the İstanbul School for the Deaf and Dumb. Between 1971 and 1972 he managed Bizim Köy Publishing and in 1972 he taught Turkish Language and Literature at the University of Venice. In 1976 he retired from his position at the Karadeniz Copper Works.

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