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NAZIM HIKMET POETRY FESTIVAL
“To live! Like a tree alone and free, Like a forest in brotherhood”
Nâzım Hikmet Ran
Greatest Modern Turkish Poet
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Named in honor of the distinguished Turkish poet, the Nâzım Hikmet Poetry Festival will be held for the first time
on Sunday, April 19, 2009 in Raleigh, North Carolina. This event will include Nâzım’s poetry, a look at his life,
and readings of poems by the area poets.
As we bring together poets and poetry lovers, participation of the area poets will be an essential part of this
Festival. Interested poets are invited to submit their poems to the Festival Committee by Wednesday, April 1,
2009. Selected poems will be published on-line at the Festival web site as well as in the Festival Booklet, and the
poets will be invited to read their poems at the Festival.
More information is available at the Festival website: www.nazimhikmetpoetryfestival.org
ABOUT NÂZIM HIKMET:
Nâzım Hikmet Ran (1902 –1963), commonly known as Nâzım Hikmet, was a Turkish poet, playwright, and novelist.
He was recognized as the first and foremost modern Turkish poet, and regarded throughout the world as one of the
greatest poets of the twentieth century for the "lyrical flow of his statements”. Described as a "romantic
revolutionary", his humanistic views are universal.
His poetry has been translated into more than fifty languages. UNESCO declared 2002 the "Year of Nâzım Hikmet"
on the occasion of what would have been his 100th birthday. He received the World Peace Prize (the USSR's
equivalent of the Nobel) in 1950. Even though he faced many challenges in his life, he always remained optimistic
about the future.
His poetry reflects his undiminishing hope for social justice, his love of life, and longing for his homeland.
ABOUT THE ORGANIZERS:
This event is organized by
American Turkish Association of North Carolina ( www.ata-nc.org ) and
Gregg Museum of Art & Design, North Carolina State University ( http://gad.ncsu.edu/ ).
Organizing committee:
Buket Aydemir, Pelin Balı, Mehmet Öztürk, and Birgül Tuzlalı
Contact: contact@nazimhikmetpoetryfestival.org
Event Location: The Gregg Museum of Art & Design, Talley Student Center, NCSU
GENERAL RULES
Deadline
Entries received by Wednesday, April 1, 2009 will be considered for selection.
Submission Requirements
All entries MUST be submitted via www.nazimhikmetpoetryfestival.org
All poems submitted to the Festival must be unpublished, original works.
Each poet can submit up to three poems.
The poems should be written in English.
The selected poems will be published on-line at the Festival web site as well as in the Festival Booklet which
will be distributed during the Festival.
The poets will retain the copyright of their poems.
Selection & Notification
Submitted poems will be evaluated anonymously and the names of the poets or their contact information will
not be disclosed to the members of the Selection Committee.
The contact listed on the entry form will be notified of their poem’s status via e-mail by April 12, 2009.
POETRY SELECTION COMMITTEE:
Kathryn Stripling Byer, NC Poet Laureate
Jon Thompson, Professor, Department of English, NC State University
Greg Dawes, Professor, Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, NC State University
Erdag Göknar, Assistant Professor of Turkish Studies, Slavic & Eurasian Studies Dept., Duke University
Joseph Donahue, Senior Lecturing Fellow, Department of English, Duke University
Hatice Örün Öztürk (ATA-NC Representative), Associate Professor, Department of ECE, NC State University
TENTATIVE FESTIVAL PROGRAM:
Opening Remarks
Greg Dawes, Professor, Department of Foreign Languages And Literatures, NC State University
Talks on Nâzım Hikmet's life and poetry:
Erdag Göknar, Assistant Professor of Turkish Studies, Slavic & Eurasian Studies Dept., Duke University
Güven Güzeldere, Associate Professor, Philosophy Department, Duke University
Nâzım reading his poetry – a recording of his voice: In Turkish with English translations available
Fazil Say’s Nâzım: An oratorical composition of one of Nâzım’s poems in Turkish with English subtitles
Poetry Reading: Nâzım Hikmet’s poetry in English
Poetry Reading: Selected poems from the entries
Refreshments
A documentary on Nâzım Hikmet's life – In Turkish with English subtitles
Blue Eyed Giant / Mavi Gözlü Dev, directed by Biket Ilhan (2007)
Thanks for posting this information, Kathryn. Maybe our Netwest poets will send in their best poems and participate. We have many good poets in the area.
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