Ahmet Kutsi Tecer and Sivas

Ahmet Kutsi Tecer was an exemplary individual in every way, devoting his relatively short life to the education, art, and culture of his country. He internalized the culture of the people he embodied and carried its passion in his heart. He was one of those who, until the end of his life, supported the Republic, which provided him with educational opportunities in Europe. Above all, he was a child of Anatolia. He was an intellectual, educator, poet, writer, and cultural and intellectual worker who wholeheartedly believed in the revolutions initiated by the Great Ata.

He was one of the first educators of the Republic of Turkey to bring enlightenment to Anatolia. He established a place of honor with his poetry, his work in folklore, his plays, and his beautiful Turkish. And he continues to do so.

Sivas was a turning point in Ahmet Kutsi Tecer's life. During his four-year stay in Sivas, he achieved many firsts in Turkish folk literature, the tradition of minstrelsy, and folklore. His contributions were inscribed in the history of these areas in golden letters.

Sivas was the city where Ahmet Kutsi Tecer found his bearings. For Sivas, Tecer was a treasure hunter who unearthed buried treasures and gifted them to his nation. Among his contributions to Sivas, as important as his discovery of Âşık Veysel was his contribution to paving the way for Muzaffer Sarısözen, making him a monumental figure in Turkish Folk Music.

Ahmet Kutsi Tecer was also writing his own poetry. He did not join the Five Syllables and Seven Torchbearers, literary movements that dominated the early years of the Republic. However, their unification was the tradition of "patriotic poetry," of which Tecer was a part.

The first thing that comes to mind is his poetry. We cannot forget Tecer, with his mastery of the syllable, his simple diction, his pure and clear language, his lively narrative, his apt use of folk idioms, and his mastery of Turkish music.

Ahmet Kutsi Tecer's interests, in addition to his education, poetry, and folklore studies, also included playwriting. It could be said that his second art form was theater. In the 1940s, he compiled the results of his research on village plays in a book titled "Village Representations." With this book, he revealed the dramatic elements and folklore richness inherent in our villages. He demonstrated his success by discovering the rich cultural heritage of the Turkish people and transmitting it through theatrical works. He also inspired those who would pursue this field after him.

Much has been written and said about his art and poetry. I believe, and hope, that it will be the subject of more extensive research in the future. Ahmet Kutsi Tecer, who captured the hearts of many in the Turkish poetry of his century, was as devoid of ostentation and ornamentation in his poetry as he was in his own life. He was a pioneer who prioritized the essential, transformed sound into poetry with a musical enchantment, drew on folklore and folklore in his verse structure, and embraced a national artistic approach that emerged from the people and reached the people.

His exposure to the West, including his student years in Paris, not only strengthened his art but also broadened and enriched his perspective. Ahmet Kutsi Tecer was 66 when he passed away. Considering the life he devoted to education, the longest period of his life was devoted to poetry.

Ahmet Kutsi Tecer was not among those who fought on the front lines for the establishment of the Republic. But he served with his pen on the front lines of education and culture for the Republic's elevation. He lived and preserved the culture of the people in the villages "there, far away," and passed it on to future generations. He was a monumental figure who, throughout his life, championed the Republic. We commemorate him with respect on the 124th anniversary of his birth and offer our condolences. May his soul rest in peace.