Ahmed Arif

Ahmed Arif (* April 21, 1927 in Diyarbakır, † June 2, 1991 in Ankara ) was a poet of Kurdish Turkey. His real name was Ahmed Önal, after his father Arif Hikmet, an officer, he changed its name to Ahmed Arif. His mother, who died early, was called Sare Hanim. He grew up in a multicultural environment and dominated beside the Turkish also Dimilkî ( Zazaisch ), Kurmanji and Arabic.

His youth spent Ahmed Arif in Diyarbakir and Siverek. The middle school he attended in Urfa and Afyon. Later he went to Ankara to study at the University of Philosophy. Between 1944 and 1955 he published many poems in various journals. Because of political reasons, he was from 1950 to 1952 in prison.

Ahmed Arif became one of the most widely read poets in Turkey. His poetry was widely spread because of its representation of the Anatolian folklore and its originality. To date, published 49 editions of his book, and there were countless pirated editions. In addition, many left-wing music groups and singers use in their texts excerpts from his poems.

During his life Arif only published a collection of poems in 1968, entitled Hasretinden Prangalar Eskittim. His son published in 2003 another collection entitled Yurdum Benim Şahdamarım.