Selma Ekrem
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Selma Ekrem | |
|---|---|
 Selma Ekrem, from a 1927 newspaper | |
| Born | August 23, 1902 Istanbul, Türkiye |
| Died | June 7, 1986 (age 83) Manomet, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Other names | Hadije Selma Ekrem, Hatice Selma Bulayir |
| Father | Ali Ekrem Bolayır |
| Relatives | Namik Kemal (grandfather) |
Hadije Selma Ekrem Bulayir (August 23, 1902 – June 7, 1986) was a Turkish-American writer and lecturer. She published hundreds of essays in The Christian Science Monitor between 1942 and 1973; her books included a memoir and a book of Turkish folk tales for children.
Ekrem was born in Istanbul, the daughter of Ali Ekrem Bolayır. Her father was the Ottoman governor general of Jerusalem from 1906 to 1908, and governor general of the Greek Archipelago Islands from 1908 to 1910; he also taught literature at Istanbul University. Her grandfather was poet Namik Kemal.[1][2] Her family was Muslim.[3] She graduated from the American College for Girls in Istanbul.[4][5]
Career
Ekrem first visited the United States in 1924, when she spoke at a meeting of the American Association of University Women (AAUW).[4] She lectured throughout the United States and Canada, especially in the 1920s and 1930s,[6][7] about Turkey and about women's lives in the Middle East.[8][9] She spoke at the World Conference of Women in Chicago in 1933.[10] In 1940 she spoke in Portland, Oregon and in Los Angeles,[11][12] and in 1941 she addressed audiences in Fresno and Santa Barbara, California.[13][14] In 1942 she spoke about World War II in San Bernardino and Stockton, California.[15][16]
