Poet and writer
(b. 3 April 1932, Ağmaç Village (Mortagonovo) / Razgrad / Bulgaria). His real
name is Mehmet Arslan. He used the surname Cumalı in his works. He attended
primary and secondary school in his village, then he improved himself through
various courses. He had to work in heavy-conditioned jobs for years since his
father died when Cumalı was too young. He could work as a teacher only for few
years. He was imprisoned in 1964, for being opposed against the Bulgarian governors’
restrictions and prohibitions on Turkish minority in Bulgaria. He was sentenced
to heavy imprisonment for one and half year. He was released from Eskizağra
Prison because of general amnesty.
His works, fruits of his studies of many years, and some
of his research documents were seized and burnt by the police and he was
divested of his political rights. In 1977 he immigrated to motherland with his
family. He first settled in Eskişehir and then Çorlu in 1983. He worked as
shopkeeper and construction worker till 1994, and then he retired. He is the
correspondent with Yellow Press Card of Bizim
Anayurt newspaper and a member of Çorlu Writers Society.
He began to write quadrants, anecdotes, puzzles, satires,
poems and articles and took part in folklore activities when he was in
secondary school. His first poem was published in the newspaper Eylülcü Çocuk (Bulgaria) in 1947. After
1985 his works were published in the newspapers Takvim, Türkiye, Şafak, Yeni İnan, Anayurt, Çerkezköy and in the
reviews Ana, Ozan, Tuna Boyu, Balkanların
Sesi, Ra Sanat, Diyanet Çocuk, Ümit Sofiya, Tuna, Genç Bay Prizien, Sevgi Yolu
and in the anthologies Ana (Mother), Ozan (Folk Poet), Türkiye Şairleri (Poets of Turkey) and Sevgi Yolu (Way of Love).
He wrote for the newspaper Marmara
Ereğlisi Sesi under the title “Biz
Göçmenler” (We Immigrants, 2004-).
WORKS:
CHILDREN’S
POETRY: Bir Demet Goncagül (A Bunch
of Rose Bud, 1998), Çocuk Manileri
(Quatrains for Children, 2000), Sen de
Bir Çiçeksin (You are a Flower, too, 2001).
RESEARCH-COLLECTION:
Ağmaç Köyü (Ağmaç Village, Balcı Ahmet, 2002), Ağmaç Köyü’nde Söylenmiş Fıkra Gibi Şakalar ve Maniler (Anecdotal
Jokes and Quadrants Told in Ağmaç Village, 2004), Razgrat Kasabası’nın Kuruluşu ve Bugünü (Settlement of Razgrat Town
and its Today, 2005).