Sherko Bekas

Sherko Bekas, one of today’s greatest Kurdish poets, is the son of the well-known Kurdish patriotic poet, Faeeq Bekas. Born in Iraqi Kurdistan’s Sulaymani Provience. Sherko’s poetry has been translated into many languages, including Arabic, Italian, Swedish, French, and English, and it has also been published in Kurdish newspapers and magazines in all parts of Kurdistan. In a recent 1990 literary competition in Europe, Sherko was awarded the Noble Prize for his poetry. As of current, he has conglomerated six of his “Dewan” poetry books into one: a single 992 pg work entitled “Dewani Sherko Bekas”.

another biography

Sherko Bekes, son of Faiq Bekes, is one of the most famous Kurdish poets. Sherko was born in 1940 in Sulaymania in Southern Kurdistan. He was educated in Sulaymania and Bagdad and published his first collection of poems there in 1968. His poems reflect his close association with the Kurdish liberation movement which he joined in 1965, working in the movement's radio station - the Voice of Kurdistan. During the period 1984 - 1987, he lived with the Kurdish peshmergas (freedom fighters). Since 1987, Sherko Bekes has lived in Sweden where continues to write. In 1987 he was awarded the Swedish PEN Club's Tucholsky Prize. In the same year he was awarded the freedom of the city of Florence. (Summary from Index on Censorship, by H Sinjari, 1988)

If from inside of all my poetry
You take out the flower,
From the four seasons
One of my seasons will die.

If you take out my lover,
Two of my seasons will die.

If you take out the bread,
Three of my seasons will die.

If you take out the freedom
My year will die and I will die also.

Autumn

Today autum passed

and left this region.

when I visited

the abandoned place,

I saw

that he had left behind

a sigh.

I took this sigh home.

It appeared custom-tailored

for one of my poems.

The Chair

The chair

on which the poet had been killed

was a witness.

It stayed alive

until it saw the death of the executioner

and freedom came upon it.

Love song

It was the first time that a sugar-cane

rebelled against her field.

This slender and pale maiden

had given her heart to the wind.

But the field did not consent to thier

marriage.

consumed with love she said,

"He is to me beyond compare.

This is where my heart lies."

To punish the maiden

whose eyes were already wet with dew,

the indegnant field called the woodpecker

who drilled a few holes

into the heart and the body of the plant.

From this day on

she was a flute,

and the hand of the wind

endowed her wounds with melodies.

She has been singing ever since for the

world.

Lost without translation

For $12,000 a book, few works are translated into Arabic and Kurdish SULEIMANIYA, IRAQ - Hundreds of books lie on the sidewalk in Suleimaniya's central square, a city in Iraq's Kurdistan Region. As in many other Middle Eastern cities, sidewalks substitute for bookstores and the crowd is free to gaze at the colorful bindings and leaf through the text, unencumbered by swift interference from a peddler who rises to shove them aside. Most of the books are written in Kurdish - only a few are in Persian. "Novels do well," says the merchant, as he lifts several titles from the pile. "So do sex books. "Everything is translated. We still don't have authors for this sort of literature. Here's Homer's, 'Iliad,'" he said. "We have a book about Freud, too." Few shoppers examine the books during the relatively cool morning. Newsstands are more popular. They draw a young crowd anxious to learn what occurred in the Kurdistan Region and the rest of Iraq in the last day. "We lack books in university, as well. All that is left is remnants from Saddam's period," says the director of the culture center that adjoins Salah a-Din University, in Arbil, the region's capital city. Foreign language books are tough to find in Suleimaniya's large public library. A single copy of Yehezkel Kujman's "Hebrew-Arab Dictionary," published in 1970, rests on the shelf next to other dictionaries, but the librarian does not know if anyone is learning Hebrew or how long the dictionary has been in the library. "We study from lectures here. Only a few students bother to read reference books." Several students passed through the hall next to the library, reciting material from hand-written notes in preparation for final exams. A group of 20 students I met with said they would love to study abroad but lack the funds to travel. "They also lack the English to study abroad," added one professor. Their command of Arabic is limited also. Arabic has become a loathsome symbol of Saddam's regime. Moreover, without significant assistance from foreign institutions, it may take years before newly written books, in Kurdish, appear in libraries and universities in Kurdistan. The situation does not merely derive from a lack of funds but from a lack of professional personnel who can competently translate foreign literature or academic texts into the local tongue. But Kurdistan may take solace in the fact that circumstances are no better in other Arab nations. Only 1,000 books were translated in Egypt during the last 10 years, and, according to 2002 U.N. statistics. Only 330 books a year are translated in Arab nations, a fifth of the number translated in Greece alone. Four months ago, Dr. Jaber Asfour was appointed director of the National Center for Translation in Egypt - an institution which achieved independent status, thanks to the intervention of President Hosni Mubarak. In newspaper interviews, Dr. Asfour expressed his hopes to facilitate translation of 1,000 books each year in Egypt. That goal was quickly slashed in half due to funding, but the remaining sum is also unrealistic. The annual budget of the National Center for Translation is $5 million, a sum sufficient to maintain offices, pay workers and print limited editions, according to Asfour. Translation alone costs about $12,000 per book and Asfour requires at least $12 million to fund his goals. The problem is not limited to fiscal considerations - it also involves quality of translation. Syria is a nation lauded for superb translators, employed by many publishers not only because of their skill but because of the meager payment they exact: $400-600 per book. It is hard to find Egyptian translators who would agree to work for such sums. Publishers also claim they cannot pay translators more because of the minimal numbers of books that they sell. For example, an Arabic translation of "My Name is Red," by Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk sold only 2,000 copies in Syria, as opposed to 70,000 copies in South Korea. Translated plays and poetry books are rare because of the limited number of readers. It appears that in Arab nations, as in Kurdistan, pornography, software and self-help are the only genres that will continue to occupy translators.

Cigerxwin

Cigerxwin ("The bleeding heart"), is a pseudonym for Sheikmous Hasan. He came from north Kurdistan and was mainly known as a poet. He made a great impact on Kurdish poetry through his work. He produced books on Kurdish history, literary history , Kurdish grammar and also a dictionary. He was born in 1901 or 1903 in the Kurdish village of Hesar close to city the of Mardin within the then Ottoman Empire. In 1925 he fled to Syria, in 1958 to Iraq and in 1970s to Lebanon. In 1979 he again fled from oppression to Sweden aged 76. Here he was able to publish several collections of poetry that no publisher in the Middle East had wanted to publish, due to the infected Kurdish question. Cigerxwin has often been called the father of Kurdish literature. He died in Sweden in 1984.

Who Am I?

Who am I, you ask ?
The kurd of Kurdistan,
a lively volcano,
fire and dynamite
in the face of enemy.
When furious,
I shake the mountains,
the sparks of my anger
are death to my foes.
Who am I ?

I am in the east,
forts and castles
towns and hamlets,
rouks and boulders,
What itony, what a shameful day !
A slave I am now for blood suckers
Yet I saved the Middle East
from the Romans and the crusaders.
Who am I ?

Ask the Near East,
Ask the Middle East,
villages and towns,
plains and deserts.
They were once all mine
when by war and knowledge
I defeated rivals
to become crowned over an empire
stretching to the borders of India.
Who am I ?

I am the proud Kurd,
the enemies' enemy,
the friend of peace-loving ones.
I am of noble race,
not wild as they claim.
My mighty ancestors
were free people.
Like them is want to be free
and that is why I fight
for the enemy won't leave in peace
and I don't want to be forever oppressed.
Who am I ?

I shall free my land
from the tyrants;
from the crrupt Shah,
the Turkish juntas
so we may live free
like other nations,
so my gardens and meadows
are mine again;
So I can join the struggle
for the good of mankind.
Who am I ?

It was I who defeated
Richard the Lionheart
My own blood I shed
ti defend these regions.
A thorn I was in my enemies' side;
in my shadow lived the Turk and Persian;
many a king held my horse's head.
Yes I am the warrior,
I am Saladin,
the King of Egypt, Syria and Palestine.
Who am I ?

I am Ardashir,
I am Noshi Rawan.
In the acient days
rivals feared my caesars
regretted my animosity.
I knew no fright;
in love with adventure;
from India to Greece
they paid me tribute.
Who am I ?

Yes, I am the Kurd,
the Kurd of Kurdistan
who is poor and oppressed today.
My castles and forts
are now demolished;
my name and my fame'
swindled by my assailants,
those who set germs intomy body
to paralize my existence
making a nameless soul of me;
a nation with no friends.
Who am I?

I am the one who despite it all
remains the unyielding Kurd;
still formidable to the enemy.
The smell of dynamite is again in my nostrils
and in my heart the strong desire to erupt.
I am the fighting valiant of mountains
who is not in love with death
but for the sake of life and freedom
he sacrifices himself
so that the land of his ancestors,
the invincible Medes;
his beloved Kurdistan , may become unchained.
Who am I?

One of my ancestors was the Blacksmith Kawa
who slayed Dahak, the notorious tyrant
to break off chains from Kurdish shoulders
and save many heads from the sword and death.
The day his vicious reign ended
was called NEWROZ, the New Day.
When Newroz comes winter departs
taking with it the dark harsh times
to make place for light and warmth.
This is the time, as Zoroaster says,
the evil spirit Ahriman is defeated
at the hand of Ormazd, the god of wisdom and light.
Who am I?

I am the maker of Newroz;
again I shall become my own master,
the ruler of my land
so I may enjoy the fruits of my orchards,
relish the sacred wines of my vineyards
and put an end to a dark era
by seeking salvation in knowledge and science;
I shall make another new day
and breathe the pure air of the liberty.
Who am I?

I am Kordokh, the good old Khaldew;
I am Mitan; Nayri and Sobar;
the son of Lo Lo; Kardok and Kodi;
I am the Mede, the Gosh, Hori and Gudi;
I am the Kurmanc, Kelhor; Lor and Gor;
yes, I have always been and remain the Kurd.
Despite centuries of suppression
in a country by force divided.
Who am I?

I am the son of Lor, Kelhor and Kurmanc
who have lost crown and reign
to become powerless,
betrayed in the name of religion
to carry rosaries in their hands
duped by the rulers,
deprived of might and wealth,
fighting each other, divided and torn
while my oppressed Kurdistan,
my wretched Kurdistan
remains prossessed.
Who am I?

The son of the Kurdish nation
awaken from deep sleep,
marching forward,
proud as a lion
wanting the whole world to know;
I shall struggle and continue the path to freedom;
I shall learn from great men,
Like Marx and Lenin.
I make a vow to my ancestors,
to Salar, Shergo and Deysem,
that this of mine will remain vigorous, unyielding, stronger than death.
Let it be kown;
I announce with no fear;
Liberty is my goal;
I shall advance in this path.
Who am I ?

I am not blood thirsty;
no, I adore peace.
Noble were my ancestors;
sincere are my leaders,
We don't ask for war but demand equality
but our enemies are the ones who betray and lie.
Friendship I seek and offer my hands
to all friendy nations.
Long live Kurdistan;
death to the oppressor!!!

Translation: Chahin Baker

Modern poetry in Kurdish literature

Father of modern kurdish poetry Abdullah Goran

By ferhad pirbal

Rhyming in poetry was not just a characteristic of Kurdish literature, but also in Europe, where rhythm and rhyming have been a precondition for almost all types of poetry in contrast to modern or free poetry.

The philosophers of the Illumination Age were quick to introduce creation as a field where new things were brought into play. Perhaps this becomes more evident in the famous Descartesian formula, which is as follows:

"I don't even want to know if there were other people before me or not." This Descartesian viewpoint was a "modern" philosophy not only for romanticists, but also for the "Dadaees."
In the beginning of the 19th century, the romanticist field came to enforce the Le Moi individual thought in arts and prioritized individualism before collectivism. The "Dariacha Khwazakan" "La Kistes" were a group of romanticist poets who gathered around Britain's north lakes. Between 1798 and 1815, the first romanticists played a role in the emergence of contemporary poetry. Friedrich Nietzsche in 1869 and afterward worked with modernism and became the path breaker of three fields, namely realism, symbolism, and expressionism. Nietzsche was important for individualism. "There is no single way for all of us," he used to say. full text