Mehmet Kansu, Altay Burağan and Turgay Akalın, masters of Turkish Cypriot poetry, discussed the past and present of Turkish Cypriot poetry at the panel held at the Near East University as part of the World Poetry Day.
Date Added: 23 March 2022, 15:21
Last Updated Date:24 March 2022, 08:21

The “Past and Present of Turkish Cypriot Poetry” was discussed with the panel held at the Near East University within the scope of the “World Poetry Day” announced by UNESCO. After the panel held at the Grand Library Prof. Dr. Ümit Hassan Republic Hall and chaired by Head of the Near East University Cyprus Studies Center Prof. Dr. Şevket Öznur, master names of Turkish Cypriot Poetry Mehmet Kansu, Altay Burağan and Turgay Akalın gave a poetry recital and signed their books.

Poets shared their poetry adventures and works
The poet who made the first speech, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Turgay Akalın shared the process of starting his poetry career with the audience. Talking about the poets and themes he was influenced by, Akalın later read his own poems. Poet Altay Burağan, on the other hand, said that because he is an agricultural engineer, he traveled almost all over Cyprus and tried to announce the revolt of the environment and nature, which had disappeared during the years he worked in the Environment Department, to the society, and recited examples from his own poems.

Another poet, Mehmet Kansu, who spoke at the panel, talked about the change and innovation in poetry from his first book published in 1959. Stating that especially writing has a great connection with narrative and therefore creates the memory of the society, Kansu said that the narrative genre that has developed in Turkish Cypriot Literature in recent years can go hand in hand with the world literature. Emphasizing that the emphasis on Mediterraneanness, which he used as the main theme in his early poems, gradually shifted to a micro area, the Eastern Mediterranean, Kansu said that he used themes inspired by the historical texture and mythology of the island in his more recent writings. Mehmet Kansu said, “I am a social poet. Social events have affected me.”