Nazim Hikmet (From Wikipedia)
Nazim Hikmet Ran (November 20, 1901 – June 3, 1963) was a Turkish poet, dramatist and communist, who is widely regarded as the best-known Turkish poet in the West and his works have been translated into several languages. Member of the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP). He was born in Salonica in the Ottoman Empire (now Thessaloniki, Greece). His birth was registered on 15 January 1902.
Style and Achievements
Despite writing his first poems in syllabic meter, Nazim Hikmet distinguished from the "syllabic poets" in concept. With the development of his poetic conception, the narrow forms of the syllabic meter began not to satisfy his needs and he set out to seek new forms for his poems. During the first years (1922-1925) of living in the Soviet Union, this search for form reached the peak.
Breaking the boundaries of the syllabic meter, he changed his form and preferred writing in free verse which harmonised with the rich vocal properties of the Turkish language. He was affected by Mayakovski and the young Soviet poets who advocated Futurism. Many of his poems have been composed by the accomplished composer, novelist and director Zülfü Livaneli. A few of his poems have been composed by the Greek composer Manos Loizos.
Some of his best known works
Memleketimden Insan Manzaralari
Kafatasi
Unutulan Adam
Taranta Babu'ya Mektuplar
Ferhad ile Sirin
Kurtulus Savasi Destani
Death and Afterward
He died of a heart attack in Moscow after many years in exile from his native Turkey. He is buried in the famous cemetery of Novodeviche in Moscow and his imposing tombstone is even today a place for pilgrimage by Turks and communists from around the world.
Kiz Cocugu
Nazim's poem Kiz Cocugu (The Dead Little Girl) conveys a plea for peace from a seven-year-old girl ten years after she has perished in the atomic bomb attack at Hiroshima. It has achieved popularity as an anti-war message and has been been performed as a song by a number of singers and musicians. Zülfü Livaneli (on Nazim Türküsü) has performed a version of the original Turkish poem. A loose English translation of Kiz Çocugu known as I Come And Stand At Every Door has been performed by The Byrds (on the album Fifth Dimension), Pete Seeger (on the album Headlines & Footnotes), and This Mortal Coil (on the album Blood), among others. In 2005, famed Shima-Uta singer Chitose Hajime collaborated with Ryuichi Sakamoto by translating Kiz Çocugu into Japanese (retitled 'Shinda Onna no Ko') It was performed live at the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima on the eve of the 60th Anniversary (August the 5th, 2005). The song later appeared as a bonus track on Chitose's Hanadairo album in 2006.www.nazimhikmetran.com - A fine collection of poems, reflections, photographs, etc. In Turkish and English.
