Poet Nazım Hikmet remembered on 119th birthday

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Today is the 119th birthday of Nazım Hikmet Ran, one of the most influential poets of Turkey.

Hikmet was born on January 15, 1902, in Salonika, Ottoman Empire (now Greece) and died on June 2, 1963, in Moscow, in exile.

This year, he was remembered in several online events due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Ataşehir District Municipality in İstanbul held events, which included the recitation of his poems, from 10.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m., under the title "The World Salutes in Poet."

Küçükçekmece District Municipality published a book entitled, "In the Footsteps of Nazım Hikmet's Hands" on the occasion of the poet's birthday. The book includes information about his books published in more than 40 languages all over the world.

About Nazım Hikmet Ran

Nazım Hikmet Ran was born in Salonika in 1902. He was educated at "Mekteb-i Sultani", "The Nişantaşı Numune Mektebi" and then "The Heybeliada Naval Academy". But he left The Naval Academy due to poor health in 1920.

He published his first poems in this period. At the beginning of 1921, he went to Anatolia to take part in the war of independence.

His interest in the October Revolution in Russia took him to the USSR and he returned to Turkey as a committed Marxist. Nazım Hikmet was imprisoned many times because of his poetry. The last charges brought against him resulted in a 28-year prison sentence in 1938 for inciting mutiny in the navy.

A campaign in support of Nazım Hikmet's innocence started in 1949 in protest of his imprisonment and created significant reverberations abroad.

With the passing of a general amnesty in 1950, Nâzım Hikmet was released from prison. Following his acquittal, Hikmet left the country because of political pressure. He was extradited from Turkish citizenship in 1951. He died in Moscow where lived until 1963. (TP/VK)