Intelligence agency unveils document linked to famed poet Nazım Hikmet
ANKARA
Türkiye’s intelligence agency has released an archive document containing a drawing, poem and signature believed to belong to prominent Turkish poet and novelist Nazım Hikmet.
The document, published by the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) and dated 1950, features verses from Hikmet’s poem "Davet,” translated to English as Invitation, a piece calling for freedom and human dignity.
Born in 1902 in Thessaloniki, which was then a part of the Ottoman Empire, Hikmet developed an interest in poetry at a young age.
After studying economics and political science in Moscow, he returned home as a Marxist in 1924, a year after the new Turkish Republic was founded following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.
Known as a “romantic communist,” the late poet was repeatedly arrested for his political beliefs.
Hikmet, who died in 1963 at the age of 61, spent much of his life in exile.
UNESCO declared 2002 the Year of Nazım Hikmet to mark the 100th anniversary of his birthday.
