Sait Maden
Sait Maden (3 May 1931, Çorum – 19 June 2013, Istanbul) was a poet, translator, painter and one of the pioneering figures of Turkish graphic design. He is known both for his translations from world poetry and for the thousands of book covers and emblems he designed. Some sources give his birth year as 1932.
Origins in Çorum and Education
Sait Maden completed his primary and secondary education in his native Çorum. He began writing poetry at the age of thirteen and translating from French at eighteen. Between 1949 and 1954 he studied in the Painting Department of the Istanbul State Academy of Fine Arts, in the studio of the painter Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu.
Poetry and Translation
Maden won first prize in Varlık magazine’s 1950 translated-poetry competition for his rendering of Charles Baudelaire’s “Moesta et Errabunda.” Over his career he translated poets including Federico García Lorca, Pablo Neruda, Louis Aragon, Octavio Paz, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Paul Éluard and Saint-John Perse into Turkish. His translation of Aragon’s Poems to Elsa (Elsa’ya Şiirler) won the Turkish Language Association’s Translation Award in 1976. He gathered old and new poetry from various cultures in an anthology titled Şiir Tapınağı (“Temple of Poetry”). In 2011 he received the PEN Turkey Poetry Award.
Graphic Design
Maden turned to graphic art from the second half of the 1950s, designing theatre sets and cinema posters between 1955 and 1960 before devoting himself entirely to graphic design after 1960. Over his career he produced roughly eight thousand book and magazine covers and close to five hundred emblems, logos, periodicals, packaging and label designs. He founded his own graphic studio in 1964, was among the founders of the Graphic Artists Association (Grafik Sanatçıları Derneği) in 1968, and founded Çekirdek Yayınları, a publishing house, in 1996. His book Simgeler (“Symbols,” 1990) brought together 150 examples of his emblem and logo designs.
Death
Sait Maden died in Istanbul on 19 June 2013, of pneumonia that developed after coronary bypass surgery. Following funeral prayers at Üsküdar Şakirin Mosque on 21 June, he was buried at Karacaahmet Cemetery.
For other artists and thinkers from Çorum, see the History and People topic page.
Sources
- Türk Edebiyatı İsimler Sözlüğü (TEİS) — Sait Maden (in Turkish)
- Wikipedia — Sait Maden
- Ministry of Culture and Tourism e-Kitap — Şair Bir Tasarımcı: Sait Maden (in Turkish)
- Biyografya.com — Sait Maden (in Turkish)
- Edebiyat Haber — Sait Maden yaşamını yitirdi (in Turkish)
- Hürriyet — Sait Maden vefat etti (in Turkish)
Frequently asked questions
Who was Sait Maden?
Sait Maden (3 May 1931, Çorum – 19 June 2013, Istanbul) was a Turkish poet, translator, painter and graphic designer. He is known for his translations of poets such as Baudelaire, Lorca, Neruda, Aragon, Paz, Mayakovsky and Saint-John Perse, and for designing thousands of book covers and emblems.
What was Sait Maden's connection to Çorum?
Sait Maden was born in Çorum on 3 May 1931 and completed his primary and secondary education there.
What awards did Sait Maden receive?
He won first prize in Varlık magazine's 1950 translated-poetry competition for his rendering of Baudelaire, and the Turkish Language Association's Translation Award in 1976 for his translation of Aragon's Poems to Elsa.