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Poets/Nazim Hikmet

Nazim Hikmet

1901–1963

Poems
21
Reader comments
17
Portrait of Nazim Hikmet
Nazim Hikmet 1901–1963
1901Born

Biography

Nazım Hikmet Ran (November 20, 1901 - June 3, 1963) was a Turkish lyricist and dramatist, who is widely regarded as the best-known Turkish poet in the West and his works have been translated into several languages.

He was born in Salonica in the Ottoman Empire (now Thessaloniki, Greece). Although he was actually born two months earlier, his birth was registered on January 15, 1902, and this was recognized as his date of birth. Some of his works are The Epic of Sheikh Bedreddin, Memleketimden Insan Manzaralari, Kafatasi, Unutulan Adam, Taranta Babu'ya Mektuplar, Ferhad ile Sirin and Kurtulus Savasi Destani.

He died of a heart attack in Moscow.

Read the full biography

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License and uses material adapted in whole or in part from the Wikipedia article on Nazım Hikmet.

From readers

What readers say about Nazim Hikmet

  1. On A Sad State Of Freedom

    “Influenced no doubt by his political views and his experiences of imprisonment, I think Nazim is arguing that freedom can be seen as a negative as well as a positive. Therefore we are free to be exploited, abused and ultimately destroyed. Interestingly in the west Erich Fromm was making a similar…”

  2. On Some Advice To Those Who Will Serve Time In Prison

    “I am also using this poem for my Humanities project. Unlike other poems where you have to list all the figures of speeches before grasping the meaning, "Some Advice.." is direct to the point and simple. It is also a biographical poem, which makes it easier to analyze and synthesize when one has a…”

  3. On Today Is Sunday

    “Nazim Hikmet was one of the most generative poet in Turkish poet history. Of course it was effective that he had lived in jails for years. For example this poem was written in Ankara Military Jail. The poem has a lot of rough copy.”

  4. On Letter To My Wife

    “one of the greatest poem I have ever read..so happy to find him here translated successfully..thanks to him for making us think about the world in an optimistic way though the toughnesses and making us feel the love-pure love!!”

Where readers gather

Most discussed

  1. On Living4 comments
  2. Some Advice To Those Who Will Serve Time In Prison4 comments
  3. A Sad State Of Freedom3 comments
  4. It's This Way1 comment
  5. Letter To My Wife1 comment
  6. Lion In An Iron Cage1 comment
  7. Our Eyes1 comment
  8. The Strangest Creature On Earth1 comment
  9. Today Is Sunday1 comment

All 21 poems

Poems · 21
  1. Gioconda And Si-Ya-U1929
  2. Hymn To Life1937
  3. Angina Pectoris1938
  4. Letters From A Man In Solitary1938
  5. The Strangest Creature On Earth19471
  6. Today Is Sunday19471
  7. It's This Way19481
  8. On Living19484
  9. Some Advice To Those Who Will Serve Time In Prison19494
  10. Autobiography1961
  11. A Sad State Of Freedom3
  12. A Spring Piece Left In The Middle
  13. About My Poetry
  14. Don Quixote
  15. Last Will And Testament
  16. Letter To My Wife1
  17. Lion In An Iron Cage1
  18. Optimistic Man
  19. Our Eyes1
  20. Regarding Art
  21. Things I Didn't Know I Loved