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Recep Küpçü (; 28 September 1934 – 26 April 1976) was a
Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
n poet and writer of Turkish origin who wrote in both Bulgarian and Turkish. Born in 1934 in the town of
Kuklen Kuklen ( ) is a town in southern Bulgaria, part of Plovdiv Province. It is located 7 km to the south of the nearest major city, Plovdiv, and is approximately 140 km south east of the Bulgarian capital, Sofia. Kuklen was proclaimed a tow ...
, he spent most of his life in Burgas, where he met various and influential Bulgarian writers. He met Turkish communist authors such as Aziz Nesin as well. While he was alive, he published three collections of poems. In some of his poems, he strongly expresses his Turkish identity and thus managed to attract the attention of the Bulgarian Communist Party. He remained unemployed, but nevertheless he did not stop writing. He died in 1974 due to unknown circumstances. To this day, the cause of his death is unclear.


Early life

Recep Küpçü was born on September 28, 1934, in the village of Kuklen,
Plovdiv Plovdiv (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, second-largest city in Bulgaria, 144 km (93 miles) southeast of the capital Sofia. It had a population of 490,983 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is a cultural hub ...
region. His parents were farmers. From an early age he felt love and interest in literature. He completed his primary and secondary education Kuklen and then moved firstly to the Kardzhali Turkish Pedagogical School and later at the Razgrad Pedagogical School. During his military service, he worked in the editorial office of the newspaper ''Trudovo delo'' as a journalist-correspondent. After completing his military service, Küpçü settled in his wife's hometown, Burgas.


Burgas

Just a few years after
the exodus The Exodus (Hebrew language, Hebrew: יציאת מצרים, ''Yəṣīʾat Mīṣrayīm'': ) is the Origin myth#Founding myth, founding myth of the Israelites whose narrative is spread over four of the five books of the Torah, Pentateuch (specif ...
, in 1956, he moved with his wife, Cemile, to the Black Sea city of Burgas, where their three children were born - two boys and a girl. His first son, Ünal died at the age of 14 from cancer, and later his daughter, also at young age. Only Erdinç survived. In Burgas, he met famous Bulgarian writers such as Hristo Fotev, Iliya Burzhev, Stoycho Gotsev, Dimitar Velinov and Nedyalko Yordanov, with whom he established friendship. He built a particularly deep relationship with Nedyalko Yordanov. There he became a member of the ''Society of Writers in Burgas,'' and received the ''Burgas poetry'' award. He published two poetry books ''The questions continue'' (1962) and ''Life is not a dream'' (1965). It is known that he wanted to dedicate a book to his hometown Kuklen as well but was unable to because of his untimely death. With great efforts on the part of Nedyalko Yordanov, another collection of poems called ''Friends of mine, let's go'' was printed in 1967 in Varna, but this time translated into Bulgarian. This made Küpçü one of the first Bulgarian Turkish authors translated into Bulgarian. In 1965, he had the chance to meet Turkish communist writers such as
Yaşar Kemal Yaşar Kemal (; born Kemal Sadık Gökçeli; 6 October 1923 – 28 February 2015) was a leading Turkish writer of Kurdish descent, who wrote in Turkish and a human rights activist. He received 38 awards during his lifetime and had been a candid ...
,
Aziz Nesin Aziz Nesin (; born Mehmet Nusret, 20 December 1915, Istanbul, Ottoman Empire – 6 July 1995, Izmir , Turkey) was a Turkish writer, humorist and the author of more than 100 books. Born in a time when Turks did not have official surnames, ...
and
Fakir Baykurt Fakir Baykurt or born Tahir Baykurt (15 June 1929 – 11 October 1999) was a Turkish author and trade unionist. Early life Fakir Baykurt was born Tahir on 15 June 1929, son of Elif and Veli Baykurt, in Akçaköy which is a district of Burdu ...
. According to Yordanov, they were all amazed by Küpçü's good Turkish, even though he had never studied the language. Although he and his wife, Cemile, were happy with the changes in their lives, rumors soon emerged that Recep was against the party and communist ideals. These rumors intensified after the publication of his second book. With the rise of his popularity, the strong presence of Turkish identity in his poetry, and rumours, Küpçü managed to attract the attention of the State Security officials. He was ordered to use the Bulgarian-Slavic suffixes "ov", "ev" after his name in 1968. Because of his refusal to do so, he began to attract the attention of State Security officials. He refused to send articles to the newspaper ''Nova Svetlina'', as they will be published with Bulgarian suffixes. At that time, his Bulgarian colleagues reached out to him and tried to help him in every way, but to no avail; he did not manage to stay in different jobs for a long time.


Death

On April 26, 1976, he was called to
Varna Varna may refer to: Places Europe *Varna, Bulgaria, a city ** Varna Province ** Varna Municipality ** Gulf of Varna ** Lake Varna **Varna Necropolis * Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy * Varna (Šabac), a village in Serbia Asia * Var ...
as an emergency. Shortly before leaving, he left a note for his wife saying that he will be back soon, but that did not happen. On the same day, Küpçü died, the cause of his death remaining unknown, as an
autopsy An autopsy (also referred to as post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of deat ...
was forbidden on his body. The authorities issued different versions of his death; at first it was said that he died of a
stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...
, and later that he was murdered by Turkish nationalists. After his death, the harassment of his family continued. His 16-year-old son Erdinç was often called to the militia and beaten continuously, and at the age of 20 he was imprisoned in
Stara Zagora Stara Zagora (, ) is a city in Bulgaria, and the administrative capital of Stara Zagora Province. It is located in the Upper Thracian Plain, near the cities of Kazanlak, Plovdiv, and Sliven. Its population is 121,582 making it the sixth largest c ...
. During one visit to his mother in prison, Küpçü's house was raided, and his manuscripts stolen. Vasil Angelov, head of the State Security department for artists, advised his poet friends not to deal with the already deceased Küpçü. To this day, the cause of his death remains unclear.


Poetry

Although he had never been 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 ...
,
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 ...
was influential in his poetry. South in his poetry symbolizes Turkey. In various poems, he uses metaphors such as "''birds that smell like Anatolia"'' to express his love. His relatives and acquaintances say that he used to ask the Turkish sailors he met "''to salute even the shadows of the Anatolian minarets.''"
Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
likewise had a strong presence. Once, when he saw an Istanbulite, he told him that he is well acquainted with the city, since "''since he was a child, he has been going there every night in his dreams''." However, he does not feel hatred towards Bulgaria, and even creates poems dedicated to his homeland and perceives his country as a mother and himself as one of many sons. The duality is strongly expressed when he talks about his ethnicity, especially in his poem ''Kader'' (Destiny): Since he was born in Kuklen, located in the
Rhodopes The Rhodopes (; , ; , ''Rodopi''; ) are a mountain range in Southeastern Europe, and the largest by area in Bulgaria, with over 83% of its area in the southern part of the country and the remainder in Greece. Golyam Perelik is its highest peak ...
, the mountains are also present in his poetry. The sea is also an important symbol, as he spent a large part of his life in Burgas. Sea, sun, spring, birds, flowers, south are another common symbol in his poetry. In addition to being an active writer, he also works as a journalist for the newspapers "Trduovo delo" and "Nova svelitsa."


Legacy

In the village of Topchiysko, Burgas, there is a school named after him. A Turkish cultural center in Burgas also bears his name. There are numerous literary criticisms and analyzes of his works, both in Bulgarian and Turkish. Rıza Mollaoğlu describes him and his poetry as a light for all Turks living in Bulgaria. Some of his poems are studied at Turkish schools in Turkey. Every year his death is commemorated in different cities like
Edirne Edirne (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...
,
İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...
, İstanbul, and Burgas.


See also

*
Hrant Dink Hrant Dink (; Western ; 15 September 1954 – 19 January 2007) was a Turkish-Armenian intellectual, editor-in-chief of ''Agos'', journalist, and columnist. As editor-in-chief of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian newspaper ''Agos'', Dink was a ...
*
Revival Process The "Revival Process" or the "Process of Rebirth" () refers to a policy of forced assimilation practiced by the communist Bulgarian government in the 1980s (1984-1989). It was the culmination of a series of repressive assimilationist campaigns ...
*
Big Excursion The "Big Excursion" () was the 1989 forced migration () of Turks and Bulgarian Muslims by the Communist government of the People's Republic of Bulgaria. In total, around 360,000 Turks and Bulgarian Muslims crossed the border into Turkey. In l ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Küpçü, Recep 1934 births 1974 deaths Bulgarian writers Turkish writers Bulgarian Turks Persecution of Balkan Turks