About
Nigâr Hanım, born in Istanbul in 1856, is a major figure in Ottoman literature. Daughter of a Hungarian nobleman who converted to Islam, she received a cosmopolitan education and spoke eight languages. Married at fourteen, her unhappy union ended in divorce. She was the first Ottoman woman to publish a poetry collection under her own name and to write a play. Her poetic work evolved from traditional divan style to modern forms influenced by the West. She kept a diary from 1887 until her death, considered the longest kept by an Ottoman woman. She hosted a literary salon in Istanbul and received the Order of Charity for her humanitarian works.
* 1856-01-01 — † 1918-01-01
Major works
- Efsûs (1887)poetry collection
- Nîrân (1896)poetry collection
- Aks-i Sadâ (1900)poetry collection
- Safahât-ı Kalp (1901)prose
- Grive (1910)play
Key milestones
- 1887Publication of her first poetry collection Efsûs, first Ottoman woman to publish a collection under her own name.
- 1912Her play Grive is staged, first play written by an Ottoman woman.
- 1998A sculpture in her honor is erected in the Poets' Park in Istanbul.
Themes
Love and lossModernity and traditionFemale identityPatriotismNature and melancholy
Sources: ktb.gov.tr · sharinghistory.museumwnf.org · repository.bilkent.edu.tr