ÇEVRE HIGHLIGHTS - 25.SAYI

35 OCAK 2024 Is there a special reason for turning to poetry among other genres in your writing? I started my literary journey with poetry. Many writers, like Ahmet Ümit, also began with poetry. I exclusively wrote poetry for a long time. Of course, later on, I wanted to write other things. I started writing essays, and now I write more essays. What are the turning points in your literary life that have shaped your literary personality? I knew what I wanted to write. I wanted to write, to have a book published... Or rather, I didn’t just know; I desired it. I used to read a lot, always did. I had a friend from our neighborhood. After middle school, he and his family moved to Istanbul while I stayed in Eskişehir. He was my closest friend. Both of us loved literature, loved reading. He had a sight problem in one eye, he didn’t wear a patch. In fact, I used to tease him, calling him “Yaşar Kemal” because Yaşar Kemal also had one eye that couldn’t see. We had plans; he was going to come to Eskişehir. He didn’t come on the first day, and I didn’t pay much attention. I waited, thinking he’d come the second day, but he didn’t. When I asked my mother, she started crying, and that’s when I realized I had lost my friend. They had heard the news but hadn’t told me. Then I went to school, acting like nothing had happened. But a year later, during the time of my final exams, one night while studying, I started crying uncontrollably. Sometimes, when people are in shock, they hold onto their pain and later, it unravels. That’s what happened to me a year later. I sat down and wrote something without knowing what I was writing, as if I were writing a letter to him. A poem titled “Gidene” (To the One Who Left). That incident was a very significant event. An event that initiated something. What do you say about the place of the poetry genre in our literature and the future of our poetry? Poetry is actually inherent in human nature. Even if a person doesn’t receive literary education, they encounter writing poetry at some point in their life, and then they either continue or not. I am one of those who continued. Five generations have passed after me. I am considered one of the poets from post-1980 in our literature. There are many valuable and qualified poets in the current generation. There is a line fromNazımHikmet that I really love, although I love all of his lines: “I am optimistic, friends, like a flowing river.” Meaning, it finds its way like water. I agree; I am very optimistic about poetry. Even if artificial intelligence comes, poetry will still be handmade in the end. Because poetry requires emotion, consciousness, thought, experience, observation, and the five senses. In your opinion, what is the place and importance of literature in art? In fact, if we say that literature is the mother of all arts, it wouldn’t be wrong. Because literature is not only composed of written works; literature existed before writing. Epics, fairy tales, folk stories, folk songs, lullabies... These are elements derived from life. The literary tradition is a tradition that continues both orally and in writing. In this respect, we can say that literature is the foundation of everything. Art forms such as cinema and theater are also based on literature; they breathe with it. Which works or authors would you recommend to young people to shape their worldviews and perspectives on life during this period of their lives? I don’t like to praise my own books, but I wrote a narrative. “Şu Benim Mavi Babam” (That’s My Blue Father). I talked about my father. My father was a mechanic. He was also a man who loved to read. Thanks to my father, I developed a great love for reading. He used to read works of Yaşar Kemal, Orhan Kemal, Aziz Nesin, and Fakir Baykurt. So, I recommend reading this book. It contains many memories and narratives, such as the music I listened to at that time, songs, and the names of books I read. In that sense, I think it has the potential to be a book that makes young people love reading. Since I loved reading so much, when I entered middle school, I started reading almost all the leading poets of our literature. Nazım Hikmet, Cemal Süreya, İlhan Berk, Gülten Akın... I also read essays. Essay is a much neglected genre, but a person shows themselves the most in essays. It’s important to read essays as well. 21st Book Festival: Haydar ERGÜLEN Interview Interviewed By: Şevval Nur YAYLA, Deniz Eda BİLEN