İhsan Oktay Anar

Who is İhsan Oktay Anar?

İhsan Oktay Anar, born 1960 in Yozgat, Turkey, is a Turkish writer, illustrator, literature translator and an academic.

He studied philosophy in Ege University on undergraduate, graduate and doctoral levels. Anar now teaches at the same university, lecturing in antique philosophy and Greek.

Anar published his first novel, The Atlas of Misty Continents in 1995. His novels are fantasy pieces supported by historical facts and rumors especially related to the Ottoman Empire and a narration resembling fairy tales. He is known for well developed, various and original characters and providing a philosophical basis for his fantasy plots. Supernatural elements and references to folk literature and culture are commonly seen in his works. He uses a mixture of Ottoman and folk terminology within his Turkish writings, giving references to myths and historical scriptures. A trivial fact is that each of his books have a character named "Uzun İhsan", which is in fact a reference to himself. Anar is a tall and imposing figure, with a height over six feet four.