Poems of Nazim Hikmet [Paperback]

Nâzim Hikmet (Author), Randy Blasing (Translator), Mutlu Konuk Blasing (Translator), Mutlu Konuk (Translator)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0892551984 | ISBN-13: 978-0892551989 | Publication Date: February 1994 | Edition: 1st

Nazim Hikmet (1902-1963), the greatest modern Turkish poet was a political prisoner in Turkey for eighteen years and spent the last thirteen years of his life in exile. Banned in his own country for thirty years, his poetry has been translated into more than fifty languages, and today he is recognized world-wide as one of the twentieth century's great international poets. This revised and enlarged selection of his finest work enables us at last to hear, in a single volume, the full range of his distinctive voice in the highly acclaimed versions that have made him an influential presence in contemporary poetry.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A leading modern Turkish poet, Hikmet (1902-1963) once wrote from prison, "In the twentieth century / grief lasts / at most a year." First jailed in 1924 at the age of 22 for working on a leftist magazine, he spent 18 years incarcerated. Hikmet was awarded the World Peace Prize in 1950, the same year as he gained his release from jail, only to be exiled from Turkey in 1951 for the last 13 years of his life. The poet evidently never lost his faith in social justice. His love of life apparently didn't weaken, and his poems resonate with its power: "Shot through ten years of bondage like a bullet, / . . . my heart is still the same heart, my head still the same head." But to consider Hikmet a political poet only is to miss his gift, and a temperament infected with joy. In "Occupation" he writes, "In the afternoon heat I pick olives, / the leaves the loveliest of greens: / I'm light from head to toe." The translations by Blasing and Mutlu Konak convey the power and originality of the work; there are no weak poems here. As Hikmet grew, he delivered a richness and humanity unparalleled in its freedom from bitterness in poems like "Things I Didn't Know I Loved," "After Getting Out of Prison" and "The Last Bus."
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

This volume selects poems of Hikmet (1902-63) that the editors consider "his best both in Turkish and in translation." A huge figure in Turkey, Hikmet was the archetypal exile. Outspoken and revolutionary, in and out of prison until 1952, he traveled until his death. His prison poems are deservedly famous, but those from the 1950s-set in Budapest, Moscow, Prague, and Warsaw-express a visceral longing for birthplace: "my heart exploding like a hand grenade." Sensual and spiritual, they transcend everything that represses the psyche. A sublime humility lifts these sad, immensely "life-loving" poems above Cold War angst into universal statements of compassion for suffering. Replacing Selected Poetry (LJ 10/1/86), this comprehensive volume contains 15 unpublished poems, selections from longer poems, and "Rubaiyat," which is only available in a private printing. Recommended for international literature collections.
Frank Allen, West Virginia State Coll., Institute
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 242 pages
• Publisher: Persea Books; 1st edition (February 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892551984
• ISBN-13: 978-0892551989
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,201,993 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars His work continues to inspire me..., May 19, 2000

By 

Alma Luz Villanueva, author (Santa Fe, New Mexico USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Poems of Nazim Hikmet (Paperback)

Just a brief note to say I consider Nazm Hikmet to be one of the great poets of all time...his passion, courage, hard-earned innocence moves me every time I pick up his work...he speaks soul to soul, the true vocation of the poet...as a poet myself I treausre him...as a teacher I always pass him on. "The true art of a warrior is to balance terror and wonder." Don Juan (Carlos Castaneda's books...Hikmet did this magnificently.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the few greatest poets of all times, November 13, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Poems of Nazim Hikmet (Paperback)

Nazim Hikmet, although he suffered deeply because of being away from his country most of his free life, has been a great admirer of Turkey and Turkish people. You can easily feel all his passion for life, for his country, love and politics. He really was a man of passion and had this great ability to share it with the world. I admire him and wish every citizen of this world to read his poems and get all the pleasure I get from them.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Poet of exile, December 31, 2000

By 

Mois Benarroch - See all my reviews

This review is from: Poems of Nazim Hikmet (Paperback)

A poet of great humanity, great compasion, a believer in the human race in spite of having been in jail from many years, as well as been exiled by the Turkish leaders. refreshing and immediate, poetry for everyone, simple and strong.