Cemâl Süreya (born Cemâlettin Seber; 1931 – 9 January 1990) was a Turkish poet and writer of Kurdish– Zaza descent.
Biography
Süreya and his family were deported to
Bilecik
Bilecik is a city in northwestern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the seat of Bilecik Province and Bilecik District.Marmara Region of Turkey after the
Dersim Rebellion
The Dersim massacre, also known as Dersim genocide, was carried out by the Turkish military over the course of three operations in the Dersim Province (renamed Tunceli) against Kurds, Kurdish rebels of Kurdish Alevism, Alevi faith, and civilians ...
(Tunceli) in 1938.
He graduated from the Political Sciences Faculty of
Ankara University
Ankara University () is a public university, public research university in Ankara, the capital of Turkey. It was the first higher education institution founded in Turkey after the History of the Republic of Turkey, formation of the Turkish republ ...
. He was the founder and editor-in-chief of the '' Papirüs'' literary magazine. Cemal Süreya is a notable member of the Second New Generation of Turkish poetry, an abstract and postmodern movement created as a backlash against the more popular-based Garip movement. Love, mainly through its erotic character, is a popular theme of Süreya's works. Süreya's poems and articles were published in magazines such as '' Yeditepe'', ''Yazko'', ''Pazar Postası'', ''Yeni Ulus'', ''Oluşum'', ''Türkiye Yazıları'', ''Politika'', ''Aydınlık'', and ''Somut''. He is known to have been a primary influence on the poetry of
Sunay Akın
Sunay Akın (born 12 September 1962) is a Turkish people, Turkish poet, writer, TV host, journalist, and a philanthropist. He is the founder of Istanbul Toy Museum.
Akın was born in Trabzon, Turkey. Akın is best known for his poetry; his prim ...
. He lost a letter "y" from his pen name – originally Süreyya – because of a lost bet with Turkish poet Sezai Karakoç.