Nazim Hikmet

I grew up with a lot of Nazim Hikmet’s books in my house. This is significant because during that time his books were banned by the government. Nazim and my grandfather were good friends and shared similar ideologies. They were both born in Salonika and then relocated to Istanbul. The first poetry book I read, around the age of 8, was by Nazim Hikmet. It was called “For Piraya” , his wife’s name. I would like to discuss his life, primarily his autobiography, which I find very interesting. His autobiography is written like a poem and he wrote it before his death.
“I was born in 1902, I never went back to my birth place I don't like to turn back at there I served as a pasha's grandson in Aleppo at nineteen as a student at Moscow Communist University at forty-nine I was back in Moscow as the Tcheka Party's guest and I've been a poet since I was fourteen some people know all about plants some about fish I know separation some people know the names of the stars by heart I recite absences I've slept in prisons and in grand hotels I've known hunger even a hunger strike and there's almost no food I haven't tasted at thirty they wanted to hang meat forty-eight to give me the Peace Prize which they did at thirty-six I covered four square meters of concrete in half a year at fifty-nine I flew from Prague to Havana in eighteen hours I never saw Lenin I stood watch at his coffin in '24in '61 the tomb I visit is his books they tried to tear me away from my party it didn't work nor was I crushed under the falling idols in '51 I sailed with a young friend into the teeth of death in '52 I spent four months flat on my back with a broken heart waiting to die I was jealous of the women I loved I didn't envy Charlie Chaplin one bit I deceived my women I never talked my friends' backs I drank but not every day I earned my bread money honestly what happiness out of embarrassment for others I lied I lied so as not to hurt someone else but I also lied for no reason at all I've ridden in trains planes and cars most people don't get the chance I went to opera most people haven't even heard of the opera and since '21 I haven't gone to the places most people visit mosques churches temples synagogues sorcerers but I've had my coffee grounds read my writings are published in thirty or forty languages in my Turkey in my Turkish they're banned cancer hasn't caught up with me yet and nothing says it will I'll never be a prime minister or anything like that and I wouldn't want such a life nor did I go to war or burrow in bomb shelters in the bottom of the night and I never had to take to the road under diving planes but I fell in love at almost sixty in short comrade seven if today in Berlin I'm croaking of grief I can say I've lived like a human being and who knows how much longer I'll live what else will happen to me Nazim Hikmet (this autobiography was written in east Berlin on 11 September 1961)
Nazim Hikmet, popularly known and critically acclaimed in Turkey as the first and foremost modern Turkish poet, is known around the world as one of the greatest international poets of the twentieth century, and his poetry has been translated into more than fifty languages but that time his books were not allowed to publish in Turkey because of the system of the government, his ideas were against the government. Like many important people, after his death, he’s books began to reappear in Turkey, in 1965 and 1966, for example, more than twenty of his books were published there, some of them reprints of earlier volumes and others works appearing for the first time. He is well know and his books are famous and being read by read by many people all around the world anymore, many of them really love him like me.
He was so lucky when he was born because his mother was an artist and his grandfather wrote poetry and he was also a Pasa “ pasa is an honorary title given to officers of high of high in Turkey, as to governments of provinces, military commanders”. Through their circle of friends Hikmet was introduced to poetry early, publishing first poems at seventeen. Some of his best known works “ Human Landscapes from My Country, Letters to Taranta-Babu, Ferhad and Sirin, The Epic of the War of Independence, The Epic of Sheikh Bedreddin, The Forgotten Man, The skull, The day before tomorrow, Human landscapes, beyond the walls”. And also hundreds of his poems are being used in song’s lyrics and still being used by famous singers.
Eventually he didn’t die in his country in Turkey, he dead in Moscow. He didn’t live in his country but he really wanted to be dead and buried in his country, he was homesick all his life. He loved his country and wrote his feeling in his poetries but somebody didn’t want see him living in Turkey because of his political thoughts. Weather it was right or wrong decision, it’s still open to question but when I read his poetry for the first time, I loved and I still love his all works.
Nazim had a friend, painter whose name was Abidin. Nazim Hikmet asked of his painter friend Abidin Dino:
“can you paint me a picture of happiness, Abidin ?
Don’t draw it easy,
Not picture of a mother with rose chick who suckles her baby,
And also apples on white tablecloth,
And also draw redfish wander around blisters in aquarium,
Can you draw 1961 Cuba summer
Thanks to my god I am living
Can you draw I’m in peace of mind for to die… “



Mehmet KEMAL