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 (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...
of
Alevi
Alevism (; ; ) is a syncretic heterodox Islamic tradition, whose adherents follow the mystical Islamic teachings of Haji Bektash Veli, who taught the teachings of the Twelve Imams, whilst incorporating some traditions from shamanism. Differing ...
faith, who - together with 34 other people, mostly Alevi intellectuals - fell victim to the 1993
Sivas massacre
The Sivas massacre () or Madımak massacre () refers to an act of mob arson taking place on July 2, 1993 at the Hotel Madımak (''Otel Madımak'') in Sivas, Turkey, which resulted in the killing of 37 people, mostly Alevi intellectuals. Two pe ...
.
Life
Metin Altıok was born in
Bergama
Bergama is a municipality and district of Ä°zmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,544 km2, and its population is 105,754 (2022). By excluding Ä°zmir's metropolitan area, it is one of the prominent districts of the province in terms of populatio ...
,
Ä°zmir Province
Ä°zmir Province () is a province and metropolitan municipality of Turkey in western Anatolia, situated along the Aegean coast. Its capital is the city of Ä°zmir, which is in itself composed of the province's central 11 districts out of 30 in to ...
,
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
.
Metin Altıok studied
philosophy
Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
at
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 ...
. After graduating he went on working first as a civil servant and subsequently as a teacher.
He held teaching posts in various
Anatolia
Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...
n cities, and taught for several years at the religious
Ä°mam Hatip school
In Turkey, an Ä°mam Hatip school (, '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; after madrasas in Turke ...
in the city of
Bingöl
Bingöl (; ; ), known as Çapakçur before 1944, is a city in Turkey. It is the seat of Bingöl Province and Bingöl District,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) is a Turkish pianist and composer who has worked internationally.
Life and career
Say was born in Ankara in 1970. His father, Ahmet Say, was an author and musicologist. His mother, Gürgün Say, was a pharm ...
devoted an
oratorio
An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble.
Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...
(
Requiem for Metin Altıok
A Requiem (Latin: ''rest'') or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead () or Mass of the dead (), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the souls of the deceased, using a particular form of the Roman Missal. It is u ...
) 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)
* Ä°pek ve klabtan (1987)
* Gerçeğin öte yakası (1990, Cemal Süreya şiir ödülü)
* Dörtlükler ve desenler (1990)
* Süveyda (1991)
* Alaturka ÅŸiirler (1992)
* Şiirin ilk atlası (1992)
* Hesap iÅŸi ÅŸiirler (1993)
* Yel ve Gül (1993)
* Bir acıya kiracı (1998-Bütün Şiirleri)
Literary awards
* 1979: Ahmet Telli Poetry Prize
* 1990: Cemal Süreya Poetry Prize