Suat Derviş

Suat Derviş (1905–1972) was a Turkish novelist, journalist, and political activist, who was among the founders of the Socialist Women’s Association in 1970. into an aristocratic family. Her mother, Hesna Hanım, was the daughter of a slave girl in the entourage of Ottoman Sultan Abdülaziz.

Derviş received private tutoring in literature, music, French, and German. Between 1919 and 1920 she lived with her sister Hamiyet in Germany, and was a student at the Berlin University.

Early work The Black Book, Suat Derviş's first novel, was published in 1921. In this work, which was met with astonishment and amazement in the literary world, she explained the inner voices and feelings of a beautiful and sensitive young girl who was condemned to death, indicating her desire to live until her last breath. she wrote the novel never written in 1923, Ne Ses Ne bir Nefes (1923), Bir Depression Night (1924), Fatma's Günahı (1924), Like Gönül (1928) and Emine (1931), the first work she wrote in Latin letters. followed. In these novels, she presented sections from the high-level life of Istanbul; talked about relationships; she examined the social position of women and the demand for freedom. Her first stories were translated into German in 1925.

First journalistic experiences Derviş was working in Alemdar newspaper when her first novel was published. She made her first interview with Refet Bey, who came to Istanbul in 1922 as the representative of the Ankara government, for the Alemdar newspaper. After a while, she left Alemdar and moved to İkdam and became a pioneer in this matter, preparing a women's page in the newspaper. During this period she also contributed to the women's magazine Süs.

Paris years When her husband, who was arrested again in 1951, started to stand trial in 1953, she left the country in case she was also arrested again; she settled down with her older sister in Sweden. She published articles in various newspapers and magazines in Europe; she wrote books to introduce herself abroad. She rewrote her novel For Zeynep under the name Ankara Prisoner. Her sister Hamiyet Hanım translated the novel into French. Published in 1957 as Le Prisonnier d'Ankara, the work was translated into eighteen languages and was so well received that it was found by critics even better than Ivo Andric's Bridge on the Drina. She traveled to the Soviet Union twice, and wrote a book about her experiences titled Niçin Sovyetler Birliği’nin Dostuyum? (Why am I a friend of the Soviet Union?). Derviş became known for her outspokenness in response to discriminatory statements made about her, once remarking "I am not ashamed of being a woman, and I am proud of being a writer. That title is my sole wealth, my only pride and my bread."

Her legacy became more prominent in the 1990s and 2000s, as more researchers grew interested in it. She was the subject of a biographical book titled Bir Kadın Bir Dönem: Suat Derviş (A Woman, A Period: Suat Derviş) by Jewish-origin Turkish author, Liz Behmoaras.