Ali Murat Alhas
21 March 2019•Update: 22 March 2019
ANKARA
The Social Sciences University of Ankara on Thursday held a poetry recitation to mark World Poetry Day.
World Poetry Day was adopted by UNESCO in 1990 with a view to support linguistic diversity through poetry and promoting endangered languages worldwide.
At the event “Writing and Life”, academics from various countries read poems in their mother tongue and shared their thoughts on the link between their culture and poetry.
Poems were read in English, Arabic, Russian, Amharic, Persian, Chinese and Japanese, and renowned poets, such as William Shakespeare, Rumi, Mahmoud Darwish and Sohrab Sepehri, were commemorated.
Mine Ozyurt Kilic, head of English language and literature department, said poetry played a key role in uniting people of all colors.
"Poetry is a significant tool to protect the languages. As a social science university, we are planning to hold this event annually to maintain the existence of poetry within the frame of academic perspective in Turkey," she said.
Kilic also touched upon Asik Veysel, one of the most prominent early 20th-century Turkish poets and singers, who passed away on March 21, 1973.
Zumre Gizem Yilmaz, an assistant professor, said poetry was a strong tool to ensure the unity of human beings around the world.
"Although there are poems read in different languages, a Chinese poet and Asik Veysel, who lived in different timelines, might basically be mentioning the same theme.
"We live in the same cosmos, we drink the same water and breath the same air, our motive was to demonstrate this harmony," she added.
Kaoru Yamaguchi, a Japanese professor who read a poem in the event, said that poetry was an indispensable part of his culture.
"Combinations of words could be different. But, our Japanese tradition of poetry is usually precise and concise. To us, the words we pronounce is like the reflection of our spirits," he added.
