Kurdish poet İlhan Sami Çomak has been awarded the Jack Hirschman International Poetry Award, presented annually in honor of the late American Marxist poet, translator, and activist.
The award ceremony took place yesterday at Bağlam Publishing House in Beyoğlu, İstanbul, hosted by actor Şenay Gürler. Among the attendees were Kurdish politicians Gültan Kışanak and Sebahat Tuncel, musician Feryal Öney, writer Zeynep Altıok, and numerous other poets, writers, and political figures.
Çomak received the award from Agneta Falk Hirschman, herself a poet and the widow of Jack Hirschman. The jury for this year’s prize included Francis Combes, Agneta Falk Hirschman, and Halmosi Sándor. They selected Çomak from among three finalists, citing his ability to convey universal human themes and poetic mastery developed over more than 30 years in prison.
'I spent 30 years in prison imagining becoming a free poet'
Jack Hirschman, born in New York in 1933 and passed away in 2021, was known for his anti-imperialist, socialist, and revolutionary themes. He translated numerous poets into English, including Nâzım Hikmet, and served as San Francisco’s Poet Laureate.
'First ceremony I have attended in person'
During his acceptance speech, Çomak addressed the audience in both Kurdish and Turkish. “I want to speak to you first as a Kurd and then as a poet, in my mother tongue,” he said. “At last, after 30 years, 3 months, and 8 days of imprisonment, I am able to address you as a free poet.”
He added, “I have been honored with many awards before, but this is the first time I have attended a ceremony in person. Poetry is truth, and it stands with truth. The power of poetry is divine. I am fortunate that this power has embraced me.”
Referring to the endurance of human values, Çomak said, “They try to convince us that truth and hope for better days are remnants of a distant, impossible world. Yet, we know from traditions passed through great hardship, pain, and resistance, that there are enduring values rooted in truth, reality, and certainly imagination.”
“We, those of us who insist on remembering against forgetting, and who defend strong values that side with humanity, have drawn a line against power. This line is the awareness of the widespread nature of evil shaped by unstable human spirit under the rule of authority, and the conscious choice to side with equality, happiness, and the beauty offered by our dreams.”
The Jack Hirschman International Poetry Award honors poets whose work embodies universal values such as justice, peace, freedom, and human dignity. (TY/VK)
