ERDAL ALOVA
(1952)

POETIC ECONOMICS

June is the month I feel the coldest
Perhaps because I was born in June
I fell in love at age four
At thirteen I wrote poems
I was a boarder deeply in love
In my eyes violet flowers
I memorized all the works of the night
I was a Phoenix of poetry
I rose from my ashes whenever consumed
I poisoned my roses and cried over them
For love I crossed a thousand mountains
I was Narcissus
From my reflection on the marigold I almost died
It was the year of solitude A.D.
I drowned between the land and the sea


Translated by Suat Karantay


Erdal Alova (1952, Ankara) finished elementary school in Ankara and middle school in Istanbul. He then graduated from Cumhuriyet High School in Ankara. He studied engineering at Middle East Technical University (METU) and he also studied at the Department of Foreign Languages at Istanbul University. He worked as an editor in various publishing houses. He prepared a Latin-Turkish dictionary. He has translated poetry and prepared anthologies. His first poem, “Issız Gül”/“Deserted Rose”, was published in the journal Yeni Dergi (1973). He has been published in journals such as Militan, Sanat Emeği, Gösteri and Adam Sanat. His poetry has been translated into Portuguese and published as a book. He comes from a socialist background. His poems reflect his internalization of Turkish and world poetry. In time, an ironic style transformed into a lyrical style. What calls attention to his poetry is his questioning of the place of man in nature and his unification of nature and man. His books of poetry: En Son Çıkan Şarkılar/Recently Released Songs (1980), Giz Dökümü/The Fall of Secrets (1989), Bitik Kent/A City Consumed (1995) and Tensemeler/BodySoul (2007).