Aegean Pearls: My Life in Izmir

A few weeks ago I went through my monthly book binge. The school secretary, a Turk named Ipek, had asked me if I was teaching any Turkish writers in my literature classes. I have spent the years since my first visit to Turkey reading Turkish writers, most notably Nobel laureate, Orhan Pamuk. But I remain ignorant of the breadth of Turkish literature.  Ipek set me aright. She wrote down ten authors I needed to check out. I immediately went home, hoping to find them translated into English. It took some work--so did finding English titles in a Turkish bookstore. Finally someone mentioned a store with English books on Konak Pier, and I went the next Sunday to check it out. The English titles they had were mostly classics--Frankenstein, Kafka, stuff like that. I found two books by Turkish writers: a history of the Ottomans and Orhan Kemal's My Father's House . Kemal had been one of the writers on Ipek's list. The book begins as a novel--another man telling his story to the writ...

This poem is about longing. The poet, Nizet Hizam (1902-1963), was an outspoken communist and often found himself in conflict with the authorities--often in prison for his political activities. He spent more than half his life either in prison or in exile. Living alone in Turkey hasn't been too hard. I read all I want. I write. I know that there will always be a longing for home, whether I'm 60 or 6,000 miles away. The cool thing about love, is that it knows no distance, and I can feel just as cared for by loved ones here as anywhere. One final note: as I was leaving and reducing the number of things to pack, I found dozens of "unfinished songs," which I scanned and saved to my Google Drive for later (image above: Turkish man with a saz, source: Fethiye Times ) If I have the experience here that I hope, I will return with many more. I,  in the darkness of my last morning,  will envision my friends and you,  and alone  take with me the grief  of an unfinished son...