Minstrel (b. 1902,
Höyük village / Şarkışla / Sivas - d. 10 October 1981). He did not receive any formal
education. His real name was Ali Özkan. He was brought up with lessons given by
Aşık Sabri from Sivas. He traveled across Anatolia’s various villages. He
participated in the defense of Gaziantep in Doğan Bey’s militia. He lived in
İstanbul and Ankara for some time. In 1924, he was arrested because he traveled
across the Alawi villages and attended ceremonies. The same year he entered the
Hadji Bektash Order and received the name İzzetî.
He earned his living on his travels to
villages from the age of twenty two. He met the leaders of the Republican
People’s Party in Ankara when he was thirty-eight years old. He gained fame in
the literary world when his poems were published in the review Ülkü, and among the public with his
recordings on which he sang famous songs such as Mecnunum Leylamı Gördüm (I am Mecnun, I Saw my Leyla), Şu Sazıma Düzen Ver (Tune my Guitar)
and Mühür Gözlüm (Black-eyed Lover).
His poems were deeply influenced by Âşık Veysel.
WORKS:
Türk’ün
Sazından (From the
Turkish Traditional Guitar, 1953), Teller
de Muradın Alsın (The Strings Grant Your Wish, 1958), Mühür Gözlüm (Black-eyed Lover, 1969).
All his poems were collected by Prof.
İlhan Başgöz in a volume with the title Âşık
Ali İzzet Özkan (Âşık Ali İzzet Özkan,
1979).
REFERENCE: Tahir Kutsi Makal / Sahte Ozanlar Âşık İhsanî ve Ali İzzet’in İçyüzü (1969), İlhan Başgöz / Âşık Ali İzzet Özkan (1979), Ahmet Özdemir / Cönklerden Günümüze Halk Şairlerimiz (1992), Şükran Kurdakul / Şairler ve Yazarlar Sözlüğü (gen. 6. bas. 1999), Behçet Necatigil / Edebiyatımızda İsimler Sözlüğü (18. bas. 1999), Alim Yıldız / Sivaslı Şairler Antolojisi (2003),