Turkish university celebrates World Poetry Day

By Ali Murat Alhas

ANKARA (AA) – A Turkish university on Sunday celebrated the UN-adopted World Poetry Day in collaboration with the UNESCO Turkish National Commission and Social Sciences University of Ankara (ASBU) Global Migration Research Center with a book containing over a dozen poems telling the stories of migrants and refugees in various geographical locations throughout history.

The book by ASBU, titled “World Poetry Day 2020/2021,” contains the texts and translations of poems in many languages including Turkish, English, Chinese, Italian, Japanese, Adyghe, Spanish, Russian, Azerbaijani Turkish, Persian, Arabic, Sumerian and Latin.

Edited by Professor Mine Ozyurt Kilic, chair of the Department of English Language and Literature at ASBU, the book aims to share the literary heritage of humanity on migration with readers and draw attention to the various aspects of the human migration experience, an issue as old as the history of humankind.

Professor M. Hakan Turkcapar, Vice Rector of Social Sciences at the University of Ankara, Professor M. Akif Kirecci, Vice President of the Turkish National Commission for UNESCO, and Professor Sebnem Koser Akcapar, Director of the Migration Research Center at ASBU, contributed to the book with forewords.

World Poetry Day was first adopted by UNESCO on March 21, 1999 during its 30th General Conference in Paris in an effort to support linguistic diversity through poetic expression and increase the opportunity for languages that are endangered to be heard.