The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) London Representative Office organised an event on Tuesday, 30 April at the Representative Office to launch the books titled “Uzay’ın şairi Osman Türkay” and “Millennium Poet Osman Türkay”, written by Semra Eren-Nijhar in honour of the Turkish Cypriot poet Osman Türkay.
At the beginning of the event, TRNC London Representative Ambassador Çimen Keskin, delivered a speech in which she emphasised the importance of understanding, telling and perpetuating the rich literary legacy of the esteemed poet Osman Türkay, who was selected as the “Millennium Poet” by the International Poets Academy, was nominated twice for the Nobel Prize in Literature and received numerous other awards.
Keskin expressed her belief that the books “Uzay’ın Şairi Osman Türkay” and “Millennium Poet Osman Türkay”, published separately in two languages and based on extensive research, will help to reach a wider audience both in our country and internationally, thus ensuring the deserved recognition of Osman Türkay and his literature by wider audiences. She thanked Semra Eren-Nijhar for her dedication in writing the books to commemorate the work and life of Osman Türkay.
Nijhar in her speech said that Osman Türkay is a world-renowned poet and his works have been translated into many languages and added that her research on Osman Türkay has taken 23 years. She also emphasised that Türkay is to the TRNC and Türkiye, what Goethe is to Germany, Shakespeare is to Britain and Nazım Hikmet, Can Yücel and Orhan Veli are to Türkiye.
Furthermore, Nijhar stated that the opening of an Osman Türkay Institute in London would help to introduce and explain Osman Türkay more widely.
At the event Süleyman Cıncık, a long-time friend to Osman Türkay, shared his memories with the poet. The event also included the screening of a mini-documentary prepared by Nijhar on the life of Osman Türkay, and was enriched by the performance of Dudu Pektunç, a young and talented Turkish Cypriot violinist and music student at Royal Holloway, University of London.