Ataol Behramoglu (b-1942)

After graduating from Ankara University’s Faculty of Letters in the Department of Russian language and literature, he conducted studies on literature in England, France and the Soviet Union between 1970 and 1974. He continued his studies at the Centre Poétique Comparée at the Sorbonne when he visited France for the second time in 1984. He founded the art and literature journal Anka. Ataol Behramoğlu gained attention with the strong socialist stance he articulated in his publications in the 1970s and he is still a true believer of the socialist ideology despite the post-1980 crisis among Turkish Marxists. One of the outstanding characteristics of his poetry is his successful blend of political discourse and traditional epic forms. In many of his poems, the influence of Nazım Hikmet can be observed. POETRY: Bir Ermeni General (1965), Bir Gün Mutlaka (1970), Yolculuk, Özlem, Cesaret ve Kavga Şiirleri (1974), Ne Yağmur... Ne Şiirler (1976), Kuşatmada (1978), Mustafa Suphi Destanı (1979), Dörtlükler (1980), İyi Bir Yurttaş Aranıyor (1983), Şiirler 1959-1982 (1983, collected poems), Türkiye Üzgün Yurdum, Güzel Yurdum (1985, published in Germany), Kızıma Mektuplar (1985, published in Germany; second edition 1987, Istanbul), Eski Nisan (1987), Sevgilimsin (1993). OTHER WORKS: Dünya Şiiri Antolojisi (1986-1987, in collaboration with Özdemir İnce), Son Yüzyıl Büyük Türk Şiiri Antolojisi (1987), Yaşayan Bir Şiir (1993, essays on poetry).

FROM THE QUATRAINS

1

The executioner one night awoke in his bed

"My God! what a difficult riddle,'' he said

"As people die their numbers increase

And I diminish as I make them dead"

2

Embrace your friends with longing, don't forget                                       

Love a child, smell a flower, don't forget

Even in confrontation's most arduous instant

Turn your gaze to the sky and don't forget

3

In the past they were patient in running their race

Waiting around for a holy man's grace

My friend, the times we live in are such

That being impatient is not out of place

4

This is a terrible child-killer earth

A crime to defend human life and mirth

The question a poet first must answer

In such a world what is poetry worth?

5

On matters of theory you talked a great game

In practice, however, you found yourself lame

Ever you sought a disguise for your fear

Got all in a tizzy when fascism came

Translated by Kemal Silay and Walter Andrews

NOT TO LAMENT UĞUR MUMCU BUT TO PRAISE HIM

Being human in our times

Exacts a heavy toll

Either you take a part in their vile crimes

Or they rend you body and soul

But then being human means

Knowing how to band together

You are human when you can feel

The heartache of another

With a bomb they took his life

To band together? He knew how!

Yesterday we were less Uğur Mumcu

And are more Uğur Mumcu now

Translated by Kemal Silay and Walter Andrews

[From An Anthology of Turkish Literature, Edited by Kemal Silay]