c
c



  

„
 

 
 
 




English version by Jennifer Ferraro & Latif Bolat

c

   
  

 





    


  
  


 
   




 
  
 

  

 

   
    
 
 

    




 
 

 


 

 
 
 

 

 
  

 

 

     

 



  
 
    


 
 
    


    



 
 
 


   

  


! 
  
  
"

c #$$ 
  


 
 
 
      



² from Quarreling with God: Mystic Rebel Poems of the Dervishes of Turkey, Translated by Jennifer Ferraro /
Translated by Latif Bolat

% 

 %

At the end of the year, at the beginning of the new year, a reminder to us all not to get lost
in life¶s minutia and bruises« beneath it all we can always find beauty.

 





But bearing witness to beauty takes skill: quiet eyes, a calm heart.

 
 
      


May this new year be one of healing, deepening insight, opening heart, and renewed
determination. And may we all discover the beauty in the paths we walk!

c
c



„
 
 „
  

Y¶ve had a difficult time finding much information in English on the life of Asik Ali Y et,
which is frustrating considering how well-loved his poetry and music are in Turkey. You can,
for example, find many contemporary Turkish recordings of songs composed by Asik Ali
Y et.

Most of my information below comes from the excellent anthology, Quarreling with God:
Mystic Rebel Poems of the Dervishes of Turkey, by Jennifer Ferraro and Latif Bolat.

At a young age, Ali Y et became an asik or ashik ² a wandering minstrel who travels
throughout the country composing and singing songs, accompanied by the stringed $. He
was both a Sufi and a social activist. Although he didn¶t have much formal education, his
work came to be widely appreciated in his lifetime and he published his poems in books and
journals, and performed in many of the great halls of Turkey. Later in life he was persecuted
for his leftist politics and he died in relative obscurity in Ankara in 1981. His songs and
poetry, however, have enjoyed a revival and are widely appreciated today.

More poetry by Asik Ali