Sherko Bekas

Sherko Bekas

Sherko Bekas and Mazhar Khaleqi
Born Sherko Bekas
(1940-05-02)2 May 1940
Sulaimaniya, Iraqi Kurdistan
Died 4 August 2013(2013-08-04) (aged 73)
Stockholm, Sweden
Occupation Poet, painter, writer, philosopher
Nationality Kurdish
Genre Poetry, parable, short story

Sherko Bekas (Kurdish: Şêrko Bêkes‎) (2 May 1940 – 4 August 2013), was a Kurdish poet.[1] He was born on 2 May 1940 in Sulaymaniyah in Iraqi Kurdistan as a son of the Kurdish poet Fayak Bekas.[2]

Biography

Bekas joined the Kurdish liberation movement in 1965 and worked in the movement's radio station (the Voice of Kurdistan). He left his homeland because of political pressure from the Iraqi regime in 1986. From 1987 to 1992, he lived in exile in Sweden. In 1992, he returned to Iraqi Kurdistan.

He died of cancer in Stockholm, Sweden on 4 August 2013.

Early years

Bekas was born in Iraqi Kurdistan. His father, Fayaq, was also a poet. Bekas published his first book when he was 17.

Literary works

In 1971, Bekas introduced the "Rûwange" (vision) element into Kurdish poetry; this was a break from the strict traditional rules of poetry, such as rhyme. The poems translated in "The Secret Diary of a Rose" by Reingard and Shirwan Mirza, with Renate Saljoghi, are examples of this style. For the first time, he introduced the "poster poem" (a term originating from sculpture and painting) in 1975 into the Kurdish poetry.

Bekas' works have been translated into Arabic, Swedish, Danish, Dutch, Italian, French and English. In 1987, he was awarded the "Tucholsky scholarship" of the Pen club in Stockholm and in the same year he was awarded the freedom prize of the city of Florence.

A two-volume collection of his poetry works has been published in Kurdish under the title "Sherko Bekas' Diwan" in Sweden. These two 1000-page volumes contain his poetic works in their entirety. He has read his poems in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, United Kingdom, Russia, and Italy, where he was named honorary citizen of Milan. He visited United States in 1990.

Books

Poetry

Here is one of his poems:

In the treasure of this world

From the King’s pearl ornamented trousers

To the Sultan’s gold woven garment

Or the emerald adorned court shoes of the queens

None of them did not become the symbol of love

And did not enter the museum of the people’s heart

Like Che Guevara’s casket hat

And Mandela’s simple garment

And Gandhi’s shoes

References

  1. ↑ "RAHA Poetry, Sherko Bekes, Kurdistan, Iraq". Rahapen.org. 1 September 2003. Retrieved 2013-08-05.
  2. ↑ "ایسنا – شیرکو بی‌کس درگذشت". Isna.ir. Retrieved 2013-08-05.
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