Background
Can Yücel was born on August 21, 1926, in Istanbul, Turkey. He was a son of Hasan Ali Yucel.
Emniyet, Dögol Cd. 6A, 06560 Yenimahalle/Ankara, Turkey
Ankara University where Can Yücel studied.
The Old Schools, Trinity Ln, Cambridge CB2 1TN, United Kingdom
The University of Cambridge where Can Yücel studied.
Can Yücel at work.
Can Yücel in the BBC studio.
Can Yücel was born on August 21, 1926, in Istanbul, Turkey. He was a son of Hasan Ali Yucel.
Can Yücel was educated at Ankara University where he studied Latin and Ancient Greek. He also attended the University of Cambridge. Soon he went to Paris where he met many future Turkish artists.
Can Yücel started his career as a translator. Soon he moved to London where he works as a translator at several embassies. In 1958, he started to work as a program assistant at the British Broadcasting Corporation. He left this post in 1963 and moved to Turkey. He briefly worked as a tourist guide in Bodrum and Marmaris and later moved to Istanbul where he went on to translate many of the great works of English literature. He translated works of Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, W. H. Auden, T. S. Eliot, and Dylan Thomas into Turkish. Can Yücel is the author of nine books of poetry.
Can Yücel was a member of the Workers Party of Turkey. In connection with the coup d'etat carried out on March 12, 1971 by the Turkish army, new government forces close the Workers' Party. For the translation of books about the life of Che Guevara, Mao Zedong and the book of one of the American generals Yücel was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison.
Can Yücel used slang and vulgar language in his poems. The main themes and inspirational sources in his poems are nature, people, events, concepts, excitements, perceptions, and emotions. He devoted many of his poems to his family.
Quotes from others about the person
Times obituary writer: "Can Yücel translations of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Tempest are acknowledged as having been turning points in the life of the Turkish theatre.
Can Yücel married Güzel Yücel. The marriage produced three children.