Latifî (1491–1582), or Kastamonulu Latifî Çelebi, was an Ottoman poet and bibliographer. Born in Kastamonu, in northern Anatolia, he became famous for his tezkireTezkiretü'ş-Şuara (Memoirs of the Poets), the second Ottoman collection of bibliographical data on poets and poetry in overall.
Latifî was born Abdüllatif Hatibzâde[1] into a notable family in Kastamonu and was educated there. He worked as accountant and katib (secretary) in various vakifs (pious foundation), including Belgrade, Constantinople, Rhodes, and Egypt.[2] His major work was Tezkiretü'ş-Şuara (Memoirs of the Poets), which was the second tezkire in chronological order after that of Sehi Bey. It is also the one with most extent copies, 91 in total.[3] The tezkire was organized in three sections with an introduction.[1] It narrated the life and work of around 300 poets of the period from the reign of Murad II (reigned between 1421 and 1451) until 1543,[2] and was finished and presented it to Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent in 1546.[4][5] The Sultan was so pleased that he appointed Latifi as secretary at the "Ayyub al-Ansari" complex endowment. According to Aşık Çelebi's work Senses of Poets (Meşairü'ş-Şuara), the poet wrote it mostly during the era of Suleiman, but presented it to Murad III in 1574 after making minor changes to the introduction.[4] Another important work of him was Evsaf-ı İstanbul (Qualities of Istanbul) written in 1525. It gives a historical overview on the city of Istanbul, intertwined with geographical data, and information on the city's neighborhoods, architecture, and social life.[2]
Latifi spent the last years of his life in Istanbul.[1] He died by drowning when the ship he was traveling to Yemen sank in the Red Sea.[2]
