ADA, Ahmet

Poet (b. 20 May 1947, Ceyhan / Adana). He attended primary and secondary school in Ceyhan (1962). He had to quit the Ceyhan High School and began to work, as his father’s business collapsed. He settled in Kayseri in 1971. After working for the Ceyhan Branch of the State Water Works (1967-69), for the Carpenters Consumption Cooperative (1971-87) and for an automobile trading company (1989-93), he took his pension off. A member of the Writers Syndicate of Türkiye, Ada moved to Mersin in 2002.

His first poem “Tabuttur Kitaplar” (Books are Coffins) and his first essay, which was an analysis on the poems of Hilmi Yavuz (Hilmi’nin Çocukluğu – Hilmi’s Childhood), were published in the review Soyut in 1966. He published his poems and articles in reviews such as Yeni Dergi, Papirüs, Varlık, Gösteri, Adam Sanat, Milliyet Sanat, Islık, Yaratım, Kitap-lık, Le Poète Travaille, Yom, Heves, Şiir-lik, Eski, Agora, Ünlem, Dize, Ada, Geceyazısı, Cumhuriyet Kitap and Radikal Kitap. Some of his poems were translated into German, French and English. He shared the Akademi Bookstore Achievement Award of Poetry with Adnan Azar and A. Cengizkan for his book titled Gün Doğsun Gül Üstüne (Let the Sun Set on Rose). He earned the Ceyhun Atuf Kansu Poerty Award with his poem titled Aşk Her Yerde (Love is Everywhere) in 1991, the Yunus Nadi Poetry Award in 1993 with his poem titled Vakit Yok Hüzünlenmeye (No Time for Melancholy), the E Dergisi Award for Studies on Poetry in 1999 with his study titled Onlar İçin Minibüs Şarkısı Üzerine Gözlemler (Observations on the Minibus Song for Them).

His articles on the problems of poetry drew great attention. His investigative aspect was revealed especially after he wrote critical and analytical essays on the Second New movement in poetry. Moreover, with his poems, he was assessed and stood out within the poetry of 1980’s. He wrote lyric and well-bred poems which were based on realist approaches and implied surrealism, as well. With his recent poems, he has opened himself a new era, in which he provided a philosophical depth to modern world conception with the emphasis on form in modern poetry. He moved towards a polyphonic poetry, dealing with subjects like immigration and war from a humanistic perspective in his long and epic poems.

WORKS (Poetry):

Gün Doğsun Gül Üstüne (Let the Sun Set on Roses, 1980), Acıyla Akran (Peer with Agony, 1983), Yaz Kırlangıcı Olsam (I Wish I were a Summer’s Swallow, 1985), Aşk Her Yerde (Love is Everywhere, 1990), Vakit Yok Hüzünlenmeye (No Time for Melancholy 1992), Günyenisi Lirikler (The Lyrics of New Days, 1992), Yitik Anka (The Lost Griffin, published with his first three books, 1993), Taş Plak Gazelleri (Odes on Stone Record, 1995), Küçük Bir Anmalık (A Little Souvenir, 1996), Begonyalı Pencere (A Window with Begonias, 1998), Denize Atılan Çiçek (A Flower Thrown to the Sea, 1999), Gökyüzünün Fıskiyesi (Water-pipe of the Sky, 2003), Denizin Uykusu Üstümde (The Sleep of the Sea is on Me, 2004).

RESEARCH: Şiir Okuma Durakları (Poetry Reading Stations, 2005).