Quote of the Week- Nazim Hikmet

"Of course you'll live, red-haired lady of my heart in the 20th century lasts at most a year," Nazim Hikmet.

We posted this entry from the late Turkish poet in honor of National Poetry Month. Hikmet (1902-1963) was a controversial figure in Turkey during his lifetime and his poems, many of which had socialist themes, even lead to prison sentences, so he left in exile to Russia. He is buried in Moscow, and many Turkish tourists seek it out.

Ironically, in recent years, he has been named The State Poet of Turkey!

POSTSCRIPT_ Alas, the great Turkish actor Kemal Sunal (1944-2000) is no longer with us as well. Sunal was the subject of the last entry in my Dead or Alive series. Though, Sunal was not a controversial figure like Hikmet, he did make fun of Turkish bureaucracy as effectively as anyone could in the 1970s (a period of political turbulence in Turkey) wihtout being thrown in jail. Amazingly enough, Sunal was praised by Turkish politicians for exemplifying the Turkish spirit upon his untimely death.