Metin Altıok (March 14, 1941 – July 9, 1993) was a Turkish

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

Alevi Alevism or Anatolian Alevism (; tr, Alevilik, ''Anadolu Aleviliği'' or ''Kızılbaşlık''; ; az, Ələvilik) is a local Islamic tradition, whose adherents follow the mystical Alevi Islamic ( ''bāṭenī'') teachings of Haji Bektash Veli, w ...

faith, who - together with 34 other people, mostly Alevi intellectuals - fell victim to the 1993

Sivas massacre The Sivas massacre ( tr, Sivas Katliamı) or Madimak massacre ( tr, Madımak Katliamı) refers to the events of July 2, 1993 at the Hotel Madimak (''Otel Madımak'') in Sivas, Turkey, which resulted in the killing of 37 people, mostly Alevi intel ...

Life

Metin Altıok was born in

Bergama Bergama is a populous district, as well as the center city of the same district, in İzmir Province in western Turkey. By excluding İzmir's metropolitan area, it is one of the prominent districts of the province in terms of population and is l ...

İzmir Province İzmir Province ( tr, İzmir ili) is a province and metropolitan municipality of Turkey in western Anatolia, situated along the Aegean coast. Its capital is the city of İzmir, which is in itself composed of the province's central 11 distri ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

. Metin Altıok studied philosophy at Ankara University. After graduating he went on working first as a civil servant and subsequently as a teacher. He held teaching posts in various

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...

n cities, and taught for several years at the religious

İmam Hatip school In Turkey, an İmam Hatip school ( tr, imam hatip lisesi, 'hatip' coming from Arabic '' khatib'') is a secondary education institution. As the name suggests, they were founded in lieu of a vocational school to train government employed imams; a ...

in the city of

Bingöl Bingöl ( diq, Çolig; ku, Çewlik; hy, Ճապաղջուր, translit=Chapaghjur) is a city in Eastern Turkey and the capital of Bingöl Province. Etymology One of the historical names for the city, ''Bingöl'' literally means ''thousand lake ...

. Altıok published his first collection of poems, ''Gezgin'' ("Gadding about"), in 1976, which was followed two years later by ''Yerleşik yabancı'' ("Settled stranger") and eight additional collections until 1992. His works were awarded several literary prizes. In addition to his literary achievements, he engaged in drawing with pen and charcoal. On 2 July 1993 he was killed while attending a cultural festival in the central Turkish city of Sivas, when Islamist rioters set fire to the hotel in which the festival was held. In 2003, the prominent Turkish composer

Fazıl Say Fazıl Say (; born 14 January 1970 in Ankara) is a Turkish pianist and composer. Life and career Fazıl Say was born in 1970. His father, Ahmet Say was an author and musicologist. His mother, Gürgün Say was a pharmacist. His grandfather Fa ...

devoted an

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is ...

( Requiem for Metin Altıok) to Altıok, who was a friend of Say.

Bibliography

* Gezgin (1976) * Yerleşik yabancı (1978) * Kendinin avcısı (1979, Ahmet Telli ile 1980 Ömer Faruk Toprak Şiir Ödülü) * Küçük tragedyalar (1981) * İpek ve klabtan (1987) * Gerçeğin öte yakası (1990, Cemal Süreya şiir ödülü) * Dörtlükler ve desenler (1990) * Süveyda (1991) * Alaturka şiirler (1992) * Şiirin ilk atlası (1992) * Hesap işi şiirler (1993) * Yel ve Gül (1993) * Bir acıya kiracı (1998-Bütün Şiirleri)

Literary awards

* 1979: Ahmet Telli Poetry Prize * 1990: Cemal Süreya Poetry Prize

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Altiok, Metin 1941 births 1993 deaths Turkish male poets Turkish writers Ankara University alumni 20th-century Turkish poets 20th-century male writers Turkish murder victims People murdered in Turkey Mass murder victims Deaths from fire