Internationally acclaimed writers, poets join Istanbul festival

Hosted by the Beyoğlu Municipality and supported by the Culture and Tourism Ministry, the 10th International Poetry and Literature Festival began in Istanbul on Oct. 3.

The event, which so far hosted nearly 300 poets from 42 different countries, has famous Turkish writer Doğan Hızlan as the honorary president.

Meanwhile, the consultative committee will include literary figures such as professor Turan Koç, associate professor Oktay Taftalı and Mehmet Hakkı Suçin.

Güray Süngü, Handan İnci, Turan Koç and Oktay Taftalı will be the moderators of the young talents segment of the festival. It will feature 30 young poets from Turkey and 20 from other countries.

The festival began with an opening ceremony for the "The First Works" exhibition curated by Ahmet Kot at Grand Pera on Oct. 3. It was followed by a concert by Senem Diyici.

"The First Works" showcases the first pieces of famous writers and poets like Gülten Akın, Cemal Süreya and Rasim Özdenören.

Giray Kemer, Zeynep Tuğçe Karadağ, Bülent Ayyıldız, Didem Gülçin Erdem, Dolunay Aker, Emre Ergin, Anıl Mert, Arda Arel, Demet Şahin, Ertuğrul Emin Akgün, Ezgi Polat, Hümeyra Yabar, Mustafa Orman, Doğukan İşler, Anıl Cihan, Büşra Sarıkaya, Harun Atak, İdris Sezgin, Mehmet Özkan Şüküran, Muhammed Cemal Ünal, Raşit Ulaş, Selenay Kübra Koçer, Sevgi Yerlioğlu, Tuba Kaplan, Duygu Kankaytsın, Ali Berkay, Sezen Ünlüönen, Miray Çakıroğlu and Cengizhan Konuş are among the participants representing Turkey at the festival.

Foreign participants included Jordi Sierra i Fabra and Maria Sevilla from Spain, Alexandru Bulucz and Anne Seidel from Germany, Ferid Hüseyin and Şehriyar Del Garani from Azerbaijan, Charlotte Van den Broeck and Maarten Inghels from Belgium, Niillas Holmberg from

Finland, Roisin Kelly from Ireland, Francesco Terzago from Italy, Sara F. Costa from Portugal, Sonnet Mondal from India, Laszlo Potozky and Hajnal Csilla Nagy from Hungary, Hayat Memiş from Romania, Ibrahim al-Sayed from Egypt, Ali Thareb from Iraq, Mahmoud al-Taweel from Syria and Liudmyla Dyadchenko from Ukraine.

About the festival

The 10th International Istanbul Poetry and Literature Festival is a member of the Europe Poetry Festivals Community and Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue between Cultures. It is one of the Istanbul's largest literature events, bringing together numerous literary figures from Turkey and abroad.

The festival also aims to be a platform for young literary figures and help them make contacts with enthusiasts and older generations of

writers and poets.

What is at this year's festival?

Some prominent directors of international literature festivals around the globe and publishers have also been invited to this year's festival.

Through a prestige project titled "Istanbul29," the festival will also take important steps for the international representation and promotion of Turkish literature.

Poetry readings, autograph sessions and interviews will also be part of the event, simultaneously held at Grand Pera, Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar Library, Mephisto Cafe, İnsan Bookstore, Fatih Pages Bookstore, Caddebostan Culture Center and Pera Museum.

Poemline Boat, which has become a tradition of the festival, will be also organized this year. The festival will run until Oct. 7.