Sunay Akin
Encyclopedia
Sunay Akın is a Turkish
poet, writer, TV host, and journalist. He is also a philanthropist
and is the founder of Istanbul Toy Museum
, a showcase of thousands of antique toys from around the world.
Best known for his poetry, Akın's primary influences include Orhan Veli Kanık and Cemal Süreya
. His poems are generally lyric, short, and soft in tone. He also often makes use of satirical forms and puns
.
Sunay Akın also has a collection of over 7,000 toys, some of which date back nearly 200 years. 4,000 of them are on display in the İstanbul Toy Museum
, located in the Göztepe
neighborhood of İstanbul
since its opening on April 23, 2005; a date chosen for its significance as National Sovereignty and Children's Day in Turkey
He hosts a TV show called "Yaşamdan Dakikalar" ("Minutes from Life") on the TV channel TV8, together with such prominent names of Turkey's media as Hıncal Uluç, Haşmet Babaoğlu, and Nebil Özgentürk. In the past, he also hosted other TV and radio programmes such as "Mahya Işıkları", "Stüdyo İstanbul" and "İzler" on the TV channel TRT 2
, "Gezgin Korkuluk" on the TV channel TV8, and "Veşaire...Veşaire" on the radio channel Yaşam Radyo.
He lectures at Marmara University
, as well as in Müjdat Gezen Art School, another well-known name in Turkey's world of performing arts
. He also lectures at his own institution, the İstanbul Toy Museum
.
Akın regularly stages one man show
s in Turkey and abroad, and participates in panels and conferences. He also contributes as a regular columnist
to the newspaper Cumhuriyet
; his column is named after his 2004 book, "Kule Cambazı" ("Tower Acrobat"), in reference to İstanbul's Maiden's Tower.
"Yeni Yaprak" ("New Page", "New Leaf") in reference to Orhan Veli
's landmark 1949 journal "Yaprak", whose logo was adopted in the new publication. "Yeni Yaprak" was published in collaboration with the poets Ramazan Üren and Akgün Akova, twice a week in the beginning, on a monthly basis later, reaching a total of sixteen issues.
A year later, in 1990, Sunay Akın also took part in the publication of another journal of poetry named "Olmaz" (Won't Happen). In 1991, in one of Yaprak's last issues, a poem titled "Barış için dizeler" ("Lines for Peace") brought together 81 Turkish poets each writing parts of the verses, unaware of what the others composed. Some among the 81 poets were well-known names of Turkish literature
, such as Can Yücel
, Hilmi Yavuz, Lale Müldür
, Semih Kaplanoğlu
, and Süreyya Berfe.
Sanat, Yeni Düşün, Varlık, Broy, Yarın, Journal of poetry & literature. He also wrote essays in a number of periodicals such as the Cumhuriyet supplement "Gezi" covering subjects such as poetry and history of art.
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
poet, writer, TV host, and journalist. He is also a philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
and is the founder of Istanbul Toy Museum
Istanbul Toy Museum
The İstanbul Toy Museum is a small museum dedicated to toys. The museum is located in the Göztepe district of Istanbul, Turkey.The museum was founded by the Turkish poet and novelist, Sunay Akın, in 2005. The museum opened on April 23, a national holiday in Turkey, National Sovereignty and...
, a showcase of thousands of antique toys from around the world.
Best known for his poetry, Akın's primary influences include Orhan Veli Kanık and Cemal Süreya
Cemal Süreya
Cemal Süreyya was a poet and writer.-Biography:After the 1938 Dersim Rebellion, Sureya and his family were forcefully deported to Bilecik, a Turkish city in western Anatolia. This had a significant affect on his poems.He graduated from the Political Sciences Faculty of Ankara University...
. His poems are generally lyric, short, and soft in tone. He also often makes use of satirical forms and puns
Puns
Puns may refer to:*Partido de Unión Nacional Saharaui, the Sahrawi political party* Pun, figure of speech* Phoenicians...
.
Sunay Akın also has a collection of over 7,000 toys, some of which date back nearly 200 years. 4,000 of them are on display in the İstanbul Toy Museum
Istanbul Toy Museum
The İstanbul Toy Museum is a small museum dedicated to toys. The museum is located in the Göztepe district of Istanbul, Turkey.The museum was founded by the Turkish poet and novelist, Sunay Akın, in 2005. The museum opened on April 23, a national holiday in Turkey, National Sovereignty and...
, located in the Göztepe
Göztepe
Göztepe can refer to:*Göztepe, Istanbul, a neigbourhood in the Kadıköy district of Istanbul, Turkey*Göztepe, İzmir, a district of İzmir, Turkey*Göztepe A.Ş., a football club in İzmir...
neighborhood of İstanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
since its opening on April 23, 2005; a date chosen for its significance as National Sovereignty and Children's Day in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
He hosts a TV show called "Yaşamdan Dakikalar" ("Minutes from Life") on the TV channel TV8, together with such prominent names of Turkey's media as Hıncal Uluç, Haşmet Babaoğlu, and Nebil Özgentürk. In the past, he also hosted other TV and radio programmes such as "Mahya Işıkları", "Stüdyo İstanbul" and "İzler" on the TV channel TRT 2
Trt 2
TRT Haber is a Turkish television station. Prior to March 18, 2010, it was known as TRT 2.-Introduction:TRT 2 started test transmissions on September 15, 1986 as "2...
, "Gezgin Korkuluk" on the TV channel TV8, and "Veşaire...Veşaire" on the radio channel Yaşam Radyo.
He lectures at Marmara University
Marmara University
Marmara University is a public university in Turkey. Situated in Istanbul, Marmara University has succeeded in becoming the second largest university in the whole country...
, as well as in Müjdat Gezen Art School, another well-known name in Turkey's world of performing arts
Performing arts
The performing arts are those forms art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical art object...
. He also lectures at his own institution, the İstanbul Toy Museum
Istanbul Toy Museum
The İstanbul Toy Museum is a small museum dedicated to toys. The museum is located in the Göztepe district of Istanbul, Turkey.The museum was founded by the Turkish poet and novelist, Sunay Akın, in 2005. The museum opened on April 23, a national holiday in Turkey, National Sovereignty and...
.
Akın regularly stages one man show
One man show
The term one-man show often referred to comedian, who would stand on stage and entertain an audience. With the advent of feminism, words and phrases such as one-woman show and comedienne have entered the modern-day lexicon....
s in Turkey and abroad, and participates in panels and conferences. He also contributes as a regular columnist
Columnist
A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs....
to the newspaper Cumhuriyet
Cumhuriyet
Cumhuriyet is a centre-left Turkish daily newspaper, founded on May 7, 1924 by journalist Yunus Nadi Abalıoğlu. Based in Istanbul, it has been situated since October 17, 2005 in Mecidiyeköy. Cumhuriyet was the last newspaper to leave the old press district Cağaloğlu...
; his column is named after his 2004 book, "Kule Cambazı" ("Tower Acrobat"), in reference to İstanbul's Maiden's Tower.
Awards
- 1987, Halil Kocagöz Poem Awards for his collection of unprinted poems "Noktalı Virgül" ("Semicolon")
- 1990, Orhon Murat Arıburnu Poem Awards for his poem "Makiler" ("MaquisMaquisMaquis or macchia is a type of high ground in Corsica covered in thick vegetation, where privateers used to hide. The name has been adopted by a variety of guerilla movements in francophone countries.Maquis may also refer to:-Geography:...
")
Earlier works
His first poems were published in various periodicals in 1984. In 1989, he founded the poetry journalLiterary magazine
A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry and essays along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letters...
"Yeni Yaprak" ("New Page", "New Leaf") in reference to Orhan Veli
Orhan Veli
Orhan Veli Kanık or Orhan Veli was a Turkish poet. Kanık who is the founder of Garip Movement together with Oktay Rıfat and Melih Cevdet has moved to the poetic language, utterance of man-in-the street by purposing rootedly to change the old structure in Turkish poetry...
's landmark 1949 journal "Yaprak", whose logo was adopted in the new publication. "Yeni Yaprak" was published in collaboration with the poets Ramazan Üren and Akgün Akova, twice a week in the beginning, on a monthly basis later, reaching a total of sixteen issues.
A year later, in 1990, Sunay Akın also took part in the publication of another journal of poetry named "Olmaz" (Won't Happen). In 1991, in one of Yaprak's last issues, a poem titled "Barış için dizeler" ("Lines for Peace") brought together 81 Turkish poets each writing parts of the verses, unaware of what the others composed. Some among the 81 poets were well-known names of Turkish literature
Turkish literature
Turkish literature comprises both oral compositions and written texts in the Turkish language, either in its Ottoman form or in less exclusively literary forms, such as that spoken in the Republic of Turkey today...
, such as Can Yücel
Can Yücel
Can Yücel was a Turkish poet noted for his use of colloquial language.-Biography:Can Yücel was the son of a former Minister of National Education, Hasan Ali Yücel who left his mark on the history of education in Turkey, and a grandchild of an Ottoman sea captain who perished with the frigate...
, Hilmi Yavuz, Lale Müldür
Lale Müldür
Lâle Müldür was born in 1956, in Aydın, Turkey. She is a Turkish poet and writer and is considered one of the most influential Turkish poets of the last several decades. Her eccentric style sets her apart from her peers....
, Semih Kaplanoğlu
Semih Kaplanoglu
Semih Kaplanoğlu is a Turkish playwright, film director and producer.-Career:He graduated from the Cinema and Television Section of the Faculty of Fine Arts at the Dokuz Eylül University in his hometown...
, and Süreyya Berfe.
Books
- "Antik Acılar" (1991, 1995, 1999) ("Antique sufferings")
- "Şairler Matinesi" (1993) ("Poets' matinée")
- "Şiir Cumhuriyeti" (1993) ("The Republic of Poetry") - joint collection
- "Veşaire...Veşaire" (1994), which could be translated as "And to poets...And to poets", a pun derived from "Ve saire...Ve saire" ("Et cetera...Et cetera...")
- "Küçük Asker...Küçük Asker..." (1995) ("Little soldier..Little soldier" referring to a popular Turkish children's song of the same name)
- "Makiler" (1996, 1999) ("Maquis")
- "Kaza Süsü" (1997) ("Freak accident")
- "Kırılan Canlar" (1997) ("Broken Souls")
- "İstanbul'un Nazım Planı" (Structural plan of Istanbul), with the word "Nazım" propitious to a pun since it also means "in verse" or may refer to the poet Nazım HikmetNazim HikmetNâzım Hikmet Ran , commonly known as Nâzım Hikmet , was a Turkish poet, playwright, novelist and memoirist. He was acclaimed for the "lyrical flow of his statements"...
. - "62 Tavşanı" (2000) ("Rabbit of 62") in reference to the simple way of drawing a rabbit, by writing down 62 first and then connecting the digits with two horizontal lines. Sunay Akın was born in 1962.
- "Ayçöreği ve Denizyıldızı" (2000) ("Croissant and starfish")
- "Kız Kulesi'ndeki Kızılderili" (2000) ("The RedskinIndigenous peoples of the AmericasThe indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
in Maiden's Tower") - "Önce Çocuklar ve Kadınlar" (2000) ("Children and women first")
- "İstanbul'da Bir Zürafa" (2001) ("A giraffe in İstanbul")
- "Onlar Hep Oradaydı" (2002) ("They were always there")
- "Kırdığımız Oyuncaklar" (2004) ("The toys we broke")
- "Kule Cambazı" (2004) ("Tower Acrobat")
Periodicals
His poems were published in many periodicals and anthologies such as MilliyetMilliyet
Milliyet is a major Turkish daily newspaper founded in 1950.-History:Milliyet came to publishing life at the Nuri Akça press in Babıali, Istanbul as a daily private newspaper on 3 May 1950...
Sanat, Yeni Düşün, Varlık, Broy, Yarın, Journal of poetry & literature. He also wrote essays in a number of periodicals such as the Cumhuriyet supplement "Gezi" covering subjects such as poetry and history of art.
Examples of Sunay Akın's poetry
- Separation
- We are like two rails
- of a railroad
- What matters if
- the last station is
- How near.
- Dead Soldier
- How much did I desire,
- to marry with my darling
- before I went to war
- But how could I know,
- that the ring on my finger
- would reveal the place I was hiding
- By touching
- the metal of the weapon...
- Minaret
- The voice of the kid
- in reciting the AdhanAdhanThe adhān is the Islamic call to prayer, recited by the muezzin at prescribed times of the day. The root of the word is meaning "to permit"; another derivative of this word is , meaning "ear"....
- is in a hurry since,
- in reciting the Adhan
- He sees his friends playing ball games
- from the minaret
- When You Left
- When you left
- did you not take with you intentionally
- the hollow
- That your head left
- in the pillow
- Whereas I was trusting to
- our love
- as much as the precise of
- the clock
- at the ferry quay or train station
- Only mom had left me like you did
- I still have on my belly
- the hole left to me
- from her absence