Asik Ali Izzet, Asik Ali Izzet poetry, Muslim / Sufi, Muslim / Sufi poetry,  poetry,  poetry,  poetry Asik Ali Izzet
Turkey (1902 - 1981) Timeline
Muslim / Sufi


Poems by Asik Ali Izzet
Books

I've had a difficult time finding much information in English on the life of Asik Ali Izzet, 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 Izzet.

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 Izzet became an asik or ashik -- a wandering minstrel who travels throughout the country composing and singing songs, accompanied by the stringed saz. 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. Her shared his poems and songs in many of the great performance 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.

Poems by Asik Ali Izzet


Recommended Books: Asik Ali Izzet

Quarreling with God: Mystic Rebel Poems of the Dervishes of Turkey



Asik Ali Izzet