Support from TİKA to International Festival of Turkish Poetry

15^th “International Festival of Turkish Poetry” was organized this year by Turkish Authors’ Association with the support of Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA). The festival took place in Bursa from October 13 to 15 and in Konya on October 16, 2022.  

International Festival of Turkish Poetry was organized this year by Turkish Authors’ Association with the support of Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA). Bursa Metropolitan Municipality and Konya Selçuklu Municipality hosted the festival. The festival took place in Tayyare Cultural Centre, Bursa from October 13 to 15 and in Konya on October 16.  80 poets from different cities in Türkiye and abroad participated in the festival.

The festival is a biennial program that is held in different countries of the Turkic world and lasts for three days. In this year’s program, poetry reading sessions were organized to commemorate the late Bahattin Karakoç, Abdurrahim Karakoç, Erdem Beyazıt, Mehmet Akif İnan, Rauf Parfi, Ragıp Karcı, Tomambay Moldagali, Hamit Nutki, Mehmet Aslan, and Osman Turkay, who were all present in the first event that took place 30 years ago.  

During the festival, Uzbek poet Hurşit Davronov was awarded the Niyazi Misri great prize, Kazakh poet Akushtap Baktygareeva was awarded the Eşrefoğlu Rumi prize and Kosovan poet Iskender Muzbeg was awarded the Süleyman Çelebi geat prize.

The Mayor Alinur Aktaş said that they are pleased to be welcoming poetry lovers in Bursa, the city of poetry.

Stating that Bursa witnessed the emergence of Ottoman literature, Mr. Aktaş added:

“It is only through its own literature and arts that a state can stand on a solid foundation and take steps towards the future confidently. As the metropolitan municipality, we are doing our share to protect the legacy we inherited from our ancestors and pave the way for new connections and productions. It is an honour for us to support traditional activities such as the International Festival of Turkish Poetry. It is pleasing that Bursa, the cradle of the Ottomans, is once again hosting the event that started right here 30 years ago. On this occasion, I would like to thank everybody who contributed to this festival."

Secretary General of Turkish Authors’ Association, Mehmet Kurtoğlu reminded the guests that the biggest and most comprehensive literature and culture festival of the Turkic world started in Bursa in 1992, and he extended his thanks to the Metropolitan Municipality for hosting the event and TİKA and all the other contributors for their efforts.

Permanent Chairman of the Festival of Turkish Poetry, Mehmet Doğan explained that it is not a coincidence that the first event of the festival was organized in Bursa and said, “It was Osman Ghazi, the permanent resident of the Gümüşlü Kümbet mausoleum (Church of Saint Elias), who first triggered this excitement. We are very happy to be living in a land that hosted a great many literary people.”