With the partnership of the Near East University Cyprus Research Center and the Cyprus Turkish Writers Union, the book of the master name of Cyprus Turkish Poetry, Mehmet Levent, titled “Do You Hear Me, Nicosia? Lefkoşa Beni Duyuyor musun?” and written in Turkish and English was published.
Near East University Cyprus Research Center and Cyprus Turkish Writers Union President Assoc. Prof. Dr. Şevket Öznur stated that they have published the book as they aimed to honor Mehmet Levent, one of the first names that come to mind when it comes to Turkish Cypriot poetry, as part of the 21st March World Poetry Day.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Öznur “We wanted to honor Mehmet Levent as the founder and member of the two institutions as the Cyprus Turkish Writers Union and Near East University Cyprus Research Center (NEU-KAM) on this special day, 21 March World Poetry Day. Due to the coronavirus outbreak that has affected the world and Cyprus, we were unable to perform the promotion of the book. We published his poetry book, “Do You Hear Me, Nicosia?”, in Turkish-English, to introduce it to the society and young generations. We would like to thank everyone for this product which we have made with team spirit and unrequited love.”
Expressing that Mehmet Levent, whom he met through teacher Ali Nesim, has gained many works in Cyprus Literature by creating a unique poem language with his masterful use of Turkish, a unique and understandable language and a poetry language. Öznur stated that the English translation of the book was also made by Fahri Tunalıer.
Called Nicosia with Poetry…
Mehmet Levent wrote for his book: “Nicosia … The city where I was born and spent most of my life. Even if I stay 10 days apart, the city that I miss so much. My confidant … My heartbeat … My memories of sea … One day, the need to call her with an epic poem, to share my feelings with her, to open my heart to her feelings, in short, to feel some kind of trouble with her, came before my heart naturally. She was sad … She was sorrowful… She was in deep grief… She was in rebellion … She would cry just by being touched… We would cry… I called out to her; “Do you hear me, Nicosia?”. She did not react at all. But I’m sure she heard me. Our conversation with her, our having a heart-to-heart talk…”