The Great Loss of Turkish Literature

The sad news of his loss was announced by the Buart Art Workshop with the statement, "We are deeply saddened by the loss of our dear teacher, the emotional and powerful writer of our literature, the unique human being, our one and only Mario Levi."

A lover of Istanbul Mario Levi, who had been a writer at Şalom in the 1980s, and won numerous awards with his stories and novels, was 66 years old. Levi besides being a writer himself, had opened the doors of literature to many young writers through the workshops he had conducted.

Born in Istanbul in 1957, after graduating from the Istanbul Saint Michel French High School, the author studied at Istanbul University Department of French and Roman Philology.

Levi who started writing for the Şalom Newspaper in 1984, when the newspaper had started to be published entirely in Turkish, also wrote for many newspapers and magazines such as Cumhuriyet, Gösteri, Milliyet Sanat, and Oksijen Newspaper.

Mario Levi who published his first novel 'Jacques Brel: Bir Yalnız Adam (Jacques Brel: A Lonely Man)' in 1986, presented his storybook 'Bir Şehre Gidememek (Not Being Able to Go to a City)' to readers in 1990. In his second novel 'Madam Floridis Dönmeyebilir (Madame Floridis may not Return)' published in 1991, he wrote about the minority population of Istanbul and those who had difficulty in adjusting to the society.

Levi, who wrote many books including 'En Güzel Aşk Hikayemiz (Our Best Love Story)', 'Lunapark Kapandı (Amusement Park Closed)', 'Size Pandispanya Yaptım (I Made Sponge Cake for You)', during an interview, had talked about his love for the Turkish language saying, "I could have written in French. If I had, it would have been much easier for me in terms of being an author of the world. I did not prefer this. I chose the hard way maybe, but it evolved in its own nature. Because your language is the language you played ball on the streets as a kid, the language you lived your first love in your youth, the language you feel like cursing when you are really angry; and that was Turkish. That is why I always tell myself, that my deepest homeland is Turkish."

Mario Levi had started a new project in 2019. In his project, there was an Istanbul novel series consisting of seven volumes. In these series, the works are not continued from the previous one; each of them is independent in itself. Each novel takes place in a specific district of Istanbul on a specific day of the week. The author was able to publish four books in this series:

Bir Cuma Rüzgarı/Kadiköy (A Friday Wind/Kadiköy) (2019)

Bu Salı ve Her Salı/Şişli (This Tuesday and Every Tuesday/Şişli) (2020)

O Pazartesi/Eminönü (That Monday/Eminönü) (2021)

Pazarın Yalnızları/Beyoğlu (The Loners of Sunday/Beyoğlu) (2022)

"One who doesn't have a dream, neither has a story"

Author Mario Levi, when he was a guest at Ulus Jewish High School a few years ago, in his speech had said, "The real creativity is based on dreams and only those who venture great risks and defeats, achieve real success." Levi telling the students "One who doesn't have a dream, neither has a story", had expressed that a person should dream, believe in what he/she is doing, and work with patience and discipline while moving on this path to achieve the dream.

Related News

7 November

The "Ottoman and Turkish Ketubbot" Exhibition

The Quincentennial Foundation Museum of Turkish Jews is opening an exhibition of Ketubbot (Jewish wedding contracts), some from forgotten corners of our homes, some as already discovered works of art, some from the walls of the collectors, some from the Chief Rabbinate Collection, on November 7th, at Schneidertempel Arts Center, after they have been cleaned and maintained.

24 October

Izzet Keribar´s "Journey of Colors" Exhibition at Istanbul Modern

Istanbul Modern, Turkey´s first modern and contemporary art museum, is preparing to host photography artist Izzet Keribar´s solo exhibition "Journey of Colors".

5 September

Virna Gülzari´s ´Dream Rooms´ Exhibition Opened in Ayvalık

8 August

Kasadolu Draws Attention to the Increasing Hostility Towards Turkish Jews

The businessperson Doğan Kasadolu wrote a letter to AKP´s Ankara Member of Parliament Tuğrul Türkeş, drawing attention to the increasing anti-Semitism.

30 May

Annette Bat Mitzvah Club and Yoel Bar Mitzvah Club Year-End Ceremonies

The 2023-2024 "Collective Bat Mitzvah Ceremony" of the Annette Bat Mitzvah Club girls, founded in 2002 within the Chief Rabbinate of Turkey Education Commission (HEGKOM), was celebrated in the Neve Shalom Synagogue on Sunday, May 26th.

13 May

Renan Koen´s Brand-New Projects for Hatay

28 March

Democrat Party (DP) Visited Şalom

18 March

Moris Karmona Declared War On Bullying With His Book "Morhis"

Moris Karmona´s book "Morhis" in which he wrote his life story, has been published.

1 March

82nd Anniversary of the Struma Disaster

The Struma Immigration Ship had sailed from Constanza, Romania to take the Jews desperate to run from the Nazis to today´s Israel, and was sunk by a torpedo from a Russian submarine after anchoring off the coast of Istanbul for weeks.

26 February

Jenisya Yaeş Came First in the 16th National Young Soloist Competition

Soprano Jenisya Yaeş, who is studying at the Dokuz Eylül University State Conservatory, Opera Art Major Undergraduate 3rd grade, has been deemed worthy of first place in the University Category of the 16th National Young Soloist Competition.