Cin Ali

Cin Ali

In Turkish, the letter C is pronounced like a J, so the title above is really "Jin Ali".

Cin Ali was the star of a well-loved series of early readers for many Turks. I guess you could even say Cin Ali was the equivalent of Dick and Jane. And like Dick and Jane, Cin Ali has gone the way of the dodo, as far as teaching literacy is concerned.

Judging by the attention he's getting lately though (Newsday, Christian Science Monitor, his own Facebook page, art gallery exhibits, a museum in the works, etc.), I think I can say - like the case of Dick and Jane - nostalgia will help him stick around in Turkish pop culture. (Pun intended.)

Cin Ali doesn't look like much - so when someone says "you can't even draw Cin Ali", it's not a compliment. Yet, his basic form evokes the simplicity of times past. No magic bottle, carpet, no local lore, etc. (That's because "cin" translates to clever, in this case.)

I think he looks like a first draft of one of my characters. Really. He does. (My crit partner is laughing.) *headdesk*

Maybe it was prophetic when Eniste laughed and dubbed me "Cin gibi!" Afterall, I ended up writing a novel about the Jinn, and another about the boy shepherd, Jin Ali.

CIN ALI Author: Rasim Kaygusuz

Illustrated by	Mustafa Delioglu

Nazim Hikmet

Nâzım Hikmet Ran

I'm in revisions right now, so my research-type blogging is on hold (until June 10), BUT I thought I'd feature some brilliant Turkish writers who inspire me.

The poet on the right is Nobel Peace Price winner, Nâzım Hikmet. His life story is very long, very international, and very interesting. He's one of those Third Culture Kid (TCK) people I so admire.  I won't go into details here, but I do suggest you go read his biography.

His work has a haunting quality that people connect with, so much that his work has been translated into many languages.

So, in honor of the Olympic Games, the British Arts Council will be featuring "World Poems on the Underground", (metro system walls) and the project has chosen to display Hikmet's poem:

Baku at Night

Reaching down to the starless heavy sea in the pitch-black night,

Baku is a sunny wheatfield.

High above on a hill, grains of light hit my face by the handfulls,

And the music in the air flows like Bosphorus. High above on a hill, my heart goes out like a raft into the endless absence,

Beyond memory down to the starless heavy sea in the pitch dark.

You might have heard some of Hikmet's poetry in other places, for example:

"I Come and Stand at Every Door" from Mortal Coil.

This same song was a release by The Byrds too. That was before my time, but some messages are immortal. Ha! An immortal message sung by Mortal Coil.