My Greatest Passions: Literature, Poetry, and Art

 

Although I am passionate about literature, art, and poetry, my wife is the biggest passion in my life. In 1994, after I published the student newspaper "Ant," I stopped the newspaperpublication because I wanted to post a literary magazine. While I was studying at the Istanbul University, Faculty of Economics, had been selling lecture notes to cover my school expenses. At that time, I announced to the magazine I would publish at the university, so "Bengisu" Literature Magazine's adventure started like this.

Afterward, the journal was published in the first four issues as "Bengisu Poetry Magazine" in bookstores and on different university campuses. It was the size of a small pocketbook; therefore, the magazine was straightforward. I founded a poetry community with the magazine staff. In addition, we became members of the Student Culture Center Literature Club. We organized the Istanbul University Literature festivals, interviews, panels, theatre, music, and poetry. Publishing was hard because we were publishing the magazine by ourselves.

Moreover, we were selling and distributing. However, all my friends in the "Bengisu" poetry community worked devotedly for this magazine. Many times, together with my friend who draws the magazine pictures, we transported magazines to the printing house and the office from the ramp. We even did bookbinding together with the group members. Everyone embraced the Bengisu magazine; hence, all the group members supported the material and spiritual work of the magazine.

At the same time, in the first issue, only poems were included in the magazine's content, and the content of the magazine was enriched with a serious and objective approach. In our fifth issue, we further increased the range and produced a new magazine with ideas from friends. We wrote stories and essays; we conducted interviews. We were included in Speaking of Readers' letters and products; specifically, we discussed with Ahmet Altan and Can Yücel; moreover, both were famous poets and writers in Turkish literature and poetry.

One crucial point: publishing and developing magazines by your own means was challenging. In contrast, it was another challenge to sustain such activity after graduation. The magazine's last issue was not published after the interview with the great poet Can Yucel. Now, I want to share a tragicomic situation about my publishing life. I was tried and sentenced for not making the magazine's legal application. Even though the journal was a university publication, it was naturally legal. Whereas our magazine was only an oppositional literary culture and art magazine, I was punished. This was a sign of how little unfair the situation of human rights in Turkey was in the '90s. This negatively affected the five years of my life and maybe afterward. I started working after I graduated from the university. While continuing my career, I also performed culture and art radio programs on private radio channels. I also organized poetry and music shows in public and private theatres. My passion for culture and art continued, and I enjoyed these activities. I invited dozens of actors, writers, musicians, painters diverse guests to my radio programs, and we had art-filled chats with them. I organized shows with many artists and achieved my targets.

Finally, in 2016, I contacted a critical publishing editor and said I wanted to publish my poems. I posted my poetry book from the publishing company he owned. I shared my poetry book with you on the blackboard. My poetry book includes the poems I wrote to my wife, to my biggest passion in life, during and after university. As I said at first, even though we die, the poems I wrote to the woman I love passionately will remain forever.