Murathan Mungan

Murathan Mungan — Biography

Murathan Mungan is one of the best-known writers of contemporary Turkish literature, working across poetry, short stories, theatre and song lyrics. He is known for his poems, plays such as Mahmut ile Yezida and Taziye, his stories, and lyrics sung by artists from Yeni Türkü to Sezen Aksu. In 2025 he received the Literature Award of the Anadolu Awards.

Born in Istanbul to a family from Mardin, he spent his school years in Mardin, which became a recurring setting in his work. He moved to Ankara in 1972, graduated from the Theatre Department of Ankara University's Faculty of Language, History and Geography, and worked as a dramaturg for six years at the Ankara State Theatres and three at the Istanbul City Theatres. He published his first pieces in 1975. His first book was Mahmut ile Yezida (1980), the opening play of the Mesopotamia Trilogy; he won first prize in a magazine contest with the poem Sahtiyan, and with Metal (1994) he became one of the most widely read poets of the 1980 generation. He has been a freelance writer since 1988.

His story collections (Kırk Oda, Paranın Cinleri), the novel Şairin Romanı, the screenplay Dağınık Yatak, which Atıf Yılmaz filmed, and his anthologies round out his output. He won the Erdal Öz Literature Award in 2012 and the GIO Award in 2013, and his work has been translated into many languages.