Aydın Şimşek

Poet and writer (b. 23 December 1960, Hisarkavak village / Mecitözü / Çorum). He attended Muş Yavuz Selim Primary School (1972), Taşova High School (1977), the Air Force Technical School (1979) and the Air Force Technical Foreign Language (English) School. He worked as a noncommissioned officer in the Air Force Technical School (1979-83) and as the Chief of Shipping Management at Datça Municipality (1983-86). He served sentence in prison given in punishment by martial law in Muğla, Aydın, Nazilli and Buca (1988-91).

His first poem appeared in the magazine Bireşim in İzmir in 1982. Later, his works were published in the magazines Yaba-Öykü, Gökyüzü, Dönemeç, Varlık, Temmuz, Yeni Olgu, Bireşim, Damar, Yazıt, Kıyı, Virgül, Gerçek, Suna, Berfin, Promete, Parantez (Germany) etc. He was given the Ankara Federation of Student Associations Poetry Achievement Award in 1986, the İstanbul Federation of Student Associations Poetry Competition Award second prize in 1987, the Human Rights Association’s Poetry Competition first aaward in 1989, the Ali Rıza Erten Poetry Award in 1996 and with his work Susmalar Kitabı (The Book of Keeping Silent) he received the 2003 Behçet Aysan Poetry Award. He is a member of Friends of Datça Association and the Turkish Authors Association.

WORKS:

POETRY: Ertelenmiş Buluşma (The Postponed Meeting, 1987), Arınmış ve Ölümsüz (Purified and Immortal, 1994), Ayrılıklar İmgedir (Separations Are Symbols, 1999), Aşk Ayrılığı da Bilir (Love Knows Separation Too, 2000), Susmalar Kitabı (The Book of Keeping Silent, 2003), Sesler (The Voices, 2005).

ESSAY-RESEARCH: Siyasal Tarih Sürecinde Sanat ve İktidar (Art and Power in the Process of Political History, 2001), Estetik ve Eylemlilik (Aesthetics and Actuality, 2002).