foto 1Gündüz Vassaf, writer and psychologist, was educated in America and Turkey. Having first worked as a clinical psychologist, he taught at Boğaziçi University until the Turkish military coup of 1980, and was subsequently visiting professor at universities in Germany and a Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Studies in Vienna, before turning to full time writing. He was also Regional Coordinator for Europe and the Middle East for the American Psychological Association’s Division of Community Psychology, a founding member of the Committee for Peace of the International Union of Psychological Science and of the Turkish Psychological Association, and the founder of the Istanbul Amnesty International Section.

Gündüz Vassaf has published thirteen books in Turkish. Focusing on the psychology of everyday life with an overarching theme of the quest for freedom, his writing weaves philosophy, psychology, literature and anecdote. As a leading figure in Turkish intellectual life, Vassaf has had a weekly cultural column in the newspaper Radikal since 1997. A biography of his life and work was published by Kürşad Oğuz under the title Gündüz Feneri in 2011.

Works (selection):

We Haven’t Yet Voiced Ourselves – Workers’ Children in Europe (Daha Sesimizi Duyuramadık), 1983, non-fiction; Prisoners of Ourselves (Cehenneme Övgü – Gündelik Hayatta Totalitarizm), 1992, essays; Depths of Heaven (Cennetin Dibi), 1996, short stories; My Mother Belkis (Annem Belkis), 2000, biography; Turkey, Who Do You Think You Are? (Türkiye Sen Kimsin? Uçmakder Yazıları 1), 2008, non-fiction; I Lost My ID, It’s Null And Void Now (Kimliğimi Kaybettim, Hükümsüzdür!), 2010, non-fiction; Mostari – The Diary of a Watchman (Mostari – Bir Köprü Bekçisinin Günlüğü), essays, 2013; A Cat in Istanbul (İstanbul’da Kedi), epic poem, 2014; Nazım(We Will See Good Days), 2015; What Can I Do?, 2016.

Foreign Editions of Gündüz Vassaf’s Works: