Sabahattin Ali was a Turkish novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born on February 25, 1907, in Eğridere township (now Ardino in southern Bulgaria) of the Sanjak of Gümülcine (now Komotini in northern Greece), in the Ottoman Empire.

Ali lived in Istanbul, Çanakkale, and Edremit before entering the School of Education in Balıkesir. He was later transferred to the School of Education in Istanbul, from which he graduated in 1926. After serving as a teacher in Yozgat for one year, he earned a fellowship from the Ministry of National Education and pursued studies in Germany from 1928 to 1930.

Upon returning to Turkey, he taught the German language in high schools in Aydın and Konya. Sabahattin Ali's work is celebrated for its emotional depth and its exploration of the human condition through a distinctly Turkish perspective.