HULKI AKTUNC
(1949)

from SONGS

Twenty-Forth Song

We belong to the sect of fire, our garments always aflame.

Thirty-Fifth Song

During that year he did not see anyone along
The steppes he kept going on

Horses and donkeys he thoght unbroken
Even the mules he did not near and along
The vast steppes kept going all alone

His special tongue he shouldn't forget
And the laconic word in that language
Which covered all forms of reproach and praying, along
The vast steppes kept him always murmuring on

He sang songs twisting their tunes
Changing the order of words moaning
And forcing all great joys and pains to tears
Adorned them with unexpected laughter
He called out his own name for days and along
The vast steppes kept going on

He ate wild-tulip stems chewed black-cactus
Lost in deep thouoht he defacted and peed
Began to envision all the faces he knew
Concentrating hard he created a vision of each
From oasis and river to the sea turning sandheaps to water
Along the vast steppes kept vanishing on

Hoping never to meet himself again along
The vast steppes and off was gone.

Translated by Tomris Uyar

Hulki Aktunç was born in 1949 and attended the Faculty of Law at Istanbul University. He is a short story writer, novelist and poet who has created a unique style of his own. His first book was published in 1977 and he has since been the recipient of some of the most prestigious awards in Turkey. Aktunç’s writing is marked by an effort to combine the traditional narrative techniques with his own experimentation. Aktunç has also compiled The Great Dictionary of Turkish Slang. “I grew up in a place where 20 languages were spoken (Kadıköy, Istanbul),” Aktunç is quoted as saying, “It is language itself that gave me the desire to write.” Some of his awards include the Turkish Language Foundation Short Story Award for his work entitled Gidenler Dönmeyenler/Those Who Left, Those Who Didn’t Come Back the Abdi İpekçi Award for Bir Çağ Yangını/The Epochal Fire and the Yunus Nadi Short Story Award for Bir Yer Göstericinin Hayatı/The Life of an Usher.