Osman Türkay (born February 16, 1927, in Ozanköy – 2001) was a

Turkish Cypriot Turkish Cypriots or Cypriot Turks ( or ; ) are so called ethnic Turks originating from Cyprus. Turkish Cypriots are mainly Sunni Muslims. Following the Ottoman conquest of the island in 1571, about 30,000 Turkish settlers were given land onc ...

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 ...

, writer, and literary critic. He was a nominee for the

Nobel Prize in Literature The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in ...

in 1988. After completing his studies at a private school in Kyrenia, Türkay went to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

where he read philosophy and studied

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

, after which he was employed on the staff of several magazines and newspapers. The internationally acclaimed poet, whose literary output includes a number of published books and anthologies, has been credited with many honours in recognition of his contributions to the literature. In his latest works, Türkay has shown a greater tendency towards working in English and his poetry has also become more abstract in essence and concept. His notable "space age" poetry has won him recognition. His works are published in more than 30 languages.

References

1927 births 2001 deaths People from Kyrenia District Turkish Cypriot journalists Turkish Cypriot poets 20th-century poets {{cyprus-poet-stub