Sunay Akın

Sunay Akın (born 1962, Trabzon, Turkey) is a Turkish poet, writer, TV host, and journalist. He is also a philanthropist and is the founder of Istanbul Toy Museum, a showcase of thousands of antique toys from around the world.

Best known for his poetry, Akın's primary influences include Orhan Veli Kanık and Cemal Süreya. His poems are generally lyric, short, and soft in tone. He also often makes use of satirical forms and puns.

Sunay Akın also has a collection of over 7,000 toys, some of which date back nearly 200 years. cite web | url = http://www.istanbuloyuncakmuzesi.com/eng/kurumsal.asp Official Web Site | title = Istanbul Toy Museum|author=| publisher=| access date=|language=English ] 4,000 of them are on display in the İstanbul Toy Museum, located in the Göztepe neighborhood of İstanbul since its opening on April 23, 2005; a date chosen for its significance as National Sovereignty and Children's Day in Turkey

He hosts a TV show called "Yaşamdan Dakikalar" ("Minutes from Life") on the TV channel TV8, together with such prominent names of Turkey's media as Hıncal Uluç, Haşmet Babaoğlu, and Nebil Özgentürk. [ cite web | url = http://arsiv.sabah.com.tr/2006/03/17/gnd93.html Newspaper article:| title = Sabah'a ödül yağdı ("A flood of awards for Sabah|author=| publisher=Sabah| access date=|language=Turkish] [ cite web | url = http://www1.ku.edu.tr/files/library/skl_newsletter/NewsLetter_April.07.pdf Suna Kıraç Library| title = Newsletter|author=| publisher=Koç University| access date=|language=English ] In the past, he also hosted other TV and radio programmes such as "Mahya Işıkları", "Stüdyo İstanbul" and "İzler" on the TV channel TRT 2, "Gezgin Korkuluk" on the TV channel TV8, and "Veşaire...Veşaire" on the radio channel Yaşam Radyo. He lectures at Marmara University, as well as in Müjdat Gezen Art School, another well-known name in Turkey's world of performing arts. He also lectures at his own institution, the İstanbul Toy Museum.

Akın regularly stages one man shows in Turkey and abroad, and participates in panels and conferences. He also contributes as a regular columnist to the newspaper Cumhuriyet; his column is named after his 2004 book, "Kule Cambazı" ("Tower Acrobat"), in reference to İstanbul's Maiden Tower.

Awards

*1987, Halil Kocagöz Poem Awards for his collection of unprinted poems "Noktalı Virgül" ("Semicolon")
*1990, Orhon Murat Arıburnu Poem Awards for his poem "Makiler" ("Maquis")

Works

Earlier works

His first poems were published in various periodicals in 1984. In 1989, he founded the poetry journal "Yeni Yaprak" ("New Page", "New Leaf") in reference to Orhan Veli's landmark 1949 journal "Yaprak", whose logo was adopted in the new publication. "Yeni Yaprak" was published in collaboration with the poets Ramazan Üren and Akgün Akova, twice a week in the beginning, on a monthly basis later, reaching a total of sixteen issues.

A year later, in 1990, Sunay Akın also took part in the publication of another journal of poetry named "Olmaz" ("Won't Happen"). In 1991, in one of Yaprak's last issues, a poem titled "Barış için dizeler" ("Lines for Peace") brought together 81 Turkish poets each writing parts of the verses, unaware of what the others composed. Some among the 81 poets were well-known names of Turkish literature, such as Can Yücel, Hilmi Yavuz, Lale Müldür, Semih Kaplanoğlu, and Süreyya Berfe.

Books

* "Antik Acılar" (1991, 1995, 1999) ("Antique sufferings")
* "Şairler Matinesi" (1993) ("Poets' matinée")
* "Şiir Cumhuriyeti" (1993) ("The Republic of Poetry") - joint collection
* "Veşaire...Veşaire" (1994), which could be translated as "And to poets...And to poets", a pun derived from "Ve saire...Ve saire" ("Et cetera...Et cetera...")
* "Küçük Asker...Küçük Asker..." (1995) ("Little soldier..Little soldier" referring to a popular Turkish children's song of the same name)
* "Makiler" (1996, 1999) ("Maquis")
* "Kaza Süsü" (1997) ("Freak accident")
* "Kırılan Canlar" (1997) ("Broken Souls")
* "İstanbul'un Nazım Planı" ("Structural plan of Istanbul"), with the word "Nazım" propitious to a pun since it also means "in verse" or may refer to the poet Nazım Hikmet.
* "62 Tavşanı" (2000) ("Rabbit of 62") in reference to the simple way of drawing a rabbit, by writing down 62 first and then connecting the digits with two horizontal lines. Sunay Akın was born in 1962.
* "Ayçöreği ve Denizyıldızı" (2000) ("Croissant and starfish")
* "Kız Kulesi'ndeki Kızılderili" (2000) ("The Redskin in Maiden's Tower")
* "Önce Çocuklar ve Kadınlar" (2000) ("Children and women first")
* "İstanbul'da Bir Zürafa" (2001) ("A giraffe in İstanbul")
* "Onlar Hep Oradaydı" (2002) ("They were always there")
* "Kırdığımız Oyuncaklar" (2004) ("The toys we broke")
* "Kule Cambazı" (2004) ("Tower Acrobat")

Periodicals

His poems were published in many periodicals and anthologies such as Milliyet Sanat, Yeni Düşün, Varlık, Broy, Yarın, Journal of poetry & literature" [ cite web | url = http://www.bilkent.edu.tr/~Bilnews/issue_8_23/issue.html Bilnews| title = Newsletter|author=| publisher=Bilkent University| access date=|language=English] [ cite web | url = http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/002-6562726-7040031?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Sunay+Akin&Go.x=12&Go.y=6 Book| title = A Collection of Poems from Around the World |author=Naomi Shihab Nye | publisher=| access date=|language=English ] . He also wrote essays in a number of periodicals such as the Cumhuriyet supplement "Gezi" covering subjects such as poetry and history of art.

Examples of Sunay Akın's poetry

* [http://www.turkish-lit.boun.edu.tr/poetry.asp?CharSet=English&ID=1514 Şiiriçi Hatları(Interpoet lines) en icon]
* [http://www.turkish-lit.boun.edu.tr/poetry.asp?CharSet=English&ID=1515 Reçel(Jam) en icon]

*Separation:We are like two rails ::of a railroad:What matters if::the last station is :How near.

*Dead Soldier:How much did I desire,::to marry with my darling ::before I went to war :But how could I know, ::that the ring on my finger ::would reveal the place I was hiding :By touching ::the metal of the weapon...

*Minaret :The voice of the kid ::in reciting the Adhan ::is in a hurry since, :He sees his friends playing ball games::from the minaret
*When You Left :When you left ::did you not take with you intentionally ::the hollow :That your head left ::in the pillow :Whereas I was trusting to ::our love ::as much as the precise of ::the clock ::at the ferry quay or train station :Only mom had left me like you did ::I still have on my belly ::the hole left to me ::from her absence

ee also

*İstanbul Toy Museum

References

References on his books, some of which were printed outside Turkey are as follows: [http://www.fbf2008turkey.com/en/dosyagoster.aspx?DIL=2&BELGEANAH=69240&DOSYAISIM=22.pdf] [http://arts.monash.edu.au/publications/colloquy/issue011/alkan.pdf] [ [http://www.kultur.gov.tr/EN/BelgeGoster.aspx?17A16AE30572D313FFB2CB2AD591CE26A359CF9C798B5C42 :: Republic Of Turkey Ministry Of Culture And Tourism :: ] ] [ [http://www.selsus.com/modules.php?name=Kitap&c_op=KisiDetay&kisino=2377 Selsus.com [Bilgiye ve Sanata Dost - kitap | muzik | film | dergi ] ] [http://www.istanbuloyuncakmuzesi.com/eng/dukkan_sunay_akin_kitap.asp books] [ [http://www.lib.duke.edu/ias/NewBooks/Mideast/September_2002] Dead link|date=March 2008] [ [http://www.turkish-lit.boun.edu.tr/author.asp?CharSet=English&ID=190 Contemporary Turkish Literature ] ] [ [http://www.memc.be/memc_eventus.asp?test/hr12/speakers/sunay_akin Eventus : Events and Fairs ] ] [ [http://cinaryayincilik.com.tr/cinar/index.php?option=com_hotproperty&task=viewagent&id=6&Itemid=99999999 : : Çınar Yayınları - Sunay Akın ] ]

Notes

External links

* [http://www.sunayakin.net/ Sunay Akın Fan Site]
* [http://www.sunayakin.info/ Sunay Akın personal Webpage]
* [http://www.istanbuloyuncakmuzesi.com/eng/default.asp İstanbul Toy Museum official webpage en icon]
* [http://www.siraze.net/antoloji/sunayakin/index.htm Antology]
* [http://www.antoloji.com/siir/sair/sair.asp?sair=130&goster=siirler Poems tr icon]
* [http://www.aruz.com/antolojisunakin.htm Antology]
* [http://www.dosthane.de/sunayakin.php Sunay Akın]
* [http://www.biyografi.info/kisi/sunay-akin?PHPSESSID=4312f327d3 Sunay Akın]
* [http://blog.milliyet.com.tr/Blog.aspx?BlogNo=37988 Sunay Akın]
* [http://sempatic.zweipage.de/textseite_41095709.html Sunay Akın]
* [http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/List-of-Turkic-Languages-poets Sunay Akın]
* [http://www.poetrytranslation.soas.ac.uk/poets/index.cfm?type=1&poet=48 Sunay Akın]
* [http://www.babelmed.net/index.php?menu=174&cont=2630&lingua=en&PHPSESSID=47c41c Sunay Akın]
* [http://www.moonandstarsproject.org/fests/2006_mayfest_tributetoattilailhan.shtml Sunay Akın]
* [http://www.britishcouncil.org.tr/enewsletter/Detail.asp?id=617 Info]
* [http://www.bibliotheekdenhaag.nl/prm/jvs_bibliotheek_2003_o_enge.pdf Bibliotheek 2003-Nl]