Livane Cultural Journal Radio Program

 

A Youth Rebellion in the 1990s: Bengisu Poetry and Literature Magazine

 

✊ Independent Magazine Publishing and Zine Culture in 90s Turkey

The second half of the 1990s was the last golden age in Turkey when the internet and digital publishing were still in their infancy, and literary production was heavily fueled by physical street culture. During this period, as an alternative to mainstream literature monopolized by major conglomerates and publishing houses, a "zine" and independent magazine movement was born—funded entirely by the pocket money of university students.

Printed in primitive printing houses under severe financial constraints, with pages hand-stapled and bound by the poets themselves, these publications became libertarian and experimental oases of the era's literature. One of the most authentic and niche examples of this stormy period, centered at Istanbul University, was Bengisu Poetry and Literature Magazine.

📜 The Birth and Editorial Character of Bengisu Magazine

Bengisu emerged in 1996 as an independent culture, art, and literature movement within Istanbul University.

• The Origin Story: Kürşat Ural (born in Artvin, 1972), then a student at the Istanbul University Faculty of Economics, founded the "Bengisu Poetry Group" following his 1994 student newspaper venture, Karınca. Under the umbrella of the Istanbul University Student Cultural Center (ÖKM) Literature Club, this group decided to transform their collective into a formal magazine.
• Editorial Line: The magazine did not just feature modern Turkish poetry; it opened its pages to essays, literary criticism, and contemporary culture-art debates centered around existential angst, rebellion, alienation, and social opposition.
• The Dual-Numbering Tradition: The most famous issue to survive into present-day second-hand bookstore archives is dated December 1996. This copy was printed with a dual-numbering system—"Issue: 1 (4)"—symbolizing the transition phase from an amateur, zine-style structure to an official periodical.

🤝 Collective Labor and the Names Behind the Scenes

Bengisu was kept alive through pure dedication and a collective, community-driven effort rather than a professional editorial staff.

• Young Poets and Illustrators: Chief edited by Kürşat Ural, the magazine featured writings and drawings by university youths belonging to the Bengisu Poetry Group. A dedicated team of illustrators handled the visual design and the artwork interspersed between poems. This team literally carried the printed sections from the press on their shoulders and bound them together by hand.
• An Academic Shield: Prof. Dr. Türkel Minibaş: While university administrations kept their distance from this independent youth movement, Prof. Dr. Türkel Minibaş, a faculty member at the Economics Department, championed the students. One of the era's most beautiful memories of solidarity is how Minibaş proudly displayed Bengisu posters and issues on her office wall.
• Literature Festivals: The Bengisu team did not stop at publishing. They bridged the gap between master writers and the younger generation by organizing the highly acclaimed 4th and 5th Literature Festivals at Istanbul University.

🎙️ Literary Peaks: The Ahmet Altan and Can Yücel Issues

Despite highly restricted means, Bengisu's sheer literary quality managed to catch the attention of two massive figures of the era, bringing them to its covers.

• The Ahmet Altan Interview (December 1996): One of the most significant issues making its mark in archives features an extensive literary interview with Ahmet Altan. Given during a time when Altan was taking the literary world by storm with his novel Tehlikeli Masallar (Dangerous Tales), this interview given to an independent student magazine holds historical importance for shedding light on the popular literary debates of the period.
• The Can Yücel Interview and Its Trajectory: One of Bengisu's greatest achievements was landing an exclusive interview with the grand master of Turkish poetry, Can Yücel. Despite financial bottlenecks, tight student budgets, and distribution barriers, this special issue was printed with immense sacrifice and brought to readers.
• A Tragicomical Legal Battle: Though the issue was successfully printed and distributed, the magazine later had to pause publishing due to graduations. Under the strict publishing laws of the era, bureaucracy gaps in official legal notifications led to a lawsuit against Chief Editor Kürşat Ural. Ural was tried and sentenced during this turbulent period simply for putting out an independent, opposition-leaning cultural magazine.

📍 The Beyoğlu Memory and Cultural Ecosystem of the Era

The distribution and survival of Bengisu were directly tied to the unique geography of 1990s Beyoğlu. In an era devoid of social media, communication was maintained via "Post Office Boxes" (P.O. Box) printed on the back covers.

The printed magazines were carried in backpacks and distributed to independent bookstores like Robinson Crusoe 389 and Pandora, or left on the counters of the Aslıhan Pasajı (Second-hand Booksellers Bazaar). In the evenings, young poets and master writers shared the same tables at literary "liberated zones" like Simurg Cafe, Kaktüs Coffee, or Yakup Meyhanesi, where Bengisu’s Can Yücel and Ahmet Altan issues passed from hand to hand.

✒️ Acclaim from Poet Küçük İskender and Varlık Magazine

Poet Küçük İskender—one of the most iconic figures of 90s underground literature and Beyoğlu street culture—was among the leading names who closely followed and supported Kürşat Ural and the Bengisu magazine's battle on the literary scene.

• The Varlık Magazine Review: Küçük İskender specifically highlighted Kürşat Ural and the Bengisu movement in his column in Varlık—the country's most deep-rooted literary institution—as well as in his zine review pieces for alternative culture magazines.
• An Aesthetic Objection and Poetry Craftsmanship: In his column, İskender described the movement as "fresh blood that brought poetry down from suit-and-tie salons to the streets and lecture halls." He hailed the young students folding and stapling printing papers together as "true poetry craftsmanship and an aesthetic objection against mainstream commercial literature." Furthermore, he highly praised Kürşat Ural's poetic language and his defiant stance on his radio show "Geceleyin Bir Koşu" (A Run by Night)—named after an İsmet Özel poem—finding it deeply aligned with the free spirit of underground literature.

🏛️ From a Tangible Legacy to an Archival Memory

Bengisu Poetry and Literature Magazine stands as the tangible cry of a generation that refused to be ground down by the wheels of mainstream media and commercial publishing houses.

Today, wh

ile physical copies can only be found as rare collector's items on niche book platforms, Bengisu retains its unforgettable place in history. Driven by the fierce editorial vision of Kürşat Ural, backed by the invaluable witness of Küçük İskender in Varlık, and boldly hosting giants like Can Yücel and Ahmet Altan, it remains one of the most sincere and courageous pages of 1990s Turkish zine and youth literature history.

👉 #LiteratureHistory #90sCulture #IndependentPublishing #Poetry #ZineCulture #TurkishLiterature #BengisuDergisi

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.

After you die, what happens?

 Do you think about death? After you die, what happens? How does your love's life change? What will they do after your die? You do not wonder. Besides, you do not want to think about this later because you have no life after that. So you should be upset! If you die, they can not hug you and touch you. Therefore, you can say sorry for all your wrong behaviour, then you should give a huge hug, and all more love to them. #love #change #family

Livane Culture Journal Radio Program

Livane Culture Journal Radio Program

Program Introduction (Summary):

Livane Culture Journal Radio Program, prepared and presented by Editor Kursat Ural and Painter Serdar Samancıoglu, has been published within the framework of Livane Culture Magazine with the number of 1307–0371 ISSN, which has been published on www.livane.org for nearly two years.
Production and Production:
Production Coordinator: Kursat Ural
Prepared and Presented by: Painter Serdar Samancıoglu-Kursat Ural

ProgramTanıtımı(Özet ):
Yaklaşık iki yıldır www.livane.org adresinde 5 sayı yayımlanan 1307–0371 ISSN belgeli Livane Kültür Dergisi çerçevesinde düşünülen ve yayınlanmakta olan Editör Kürşat Ural ve Ressam Serdar Samancıoğlu’nun hazırlayıp sunmuş olduğu Livane Kültür Güncesi Radyo Programı
Yapım ve Prodüksiyon:
Yapım Koordinatörü:Kürşat Ural
Hazırlayan ve Sunanlar: Ressam Serdar Samancıoğlu-Kürşat Ural

Versailles Sarayından Bazı Kareler

*Fotoğraflar tarafımca amatörce çekilmiştir.

Mardin Yemekleri

Ebrar Lokantası

Kepabçı Rido

Ebrar Lokantası

Sadık Künefe

Ebrar Lokantasında yediğimiz yemekler çok lezzetliydi.Eski Mardin de bulunan Kebapçı Rido'nun kebabı, Sadık künefede yediğimiz künefe harikaydı. Eski Mardin'e gelipte bu lezzetlerden sakın mahrum kalmayın.
*Fotoğraflar tarafımdan amatörce çekilmiştir.