[COVER DESIGN - AVANTGARDES] Sesini kaybeden sehir. [i.e. The city which lost its voice]. Cover and ills. by Abidin Dino, (1913-1993)

NÂZIM HIKMET [RAN], (1902-1963)., Remzi Kitaphanesi, Istanbul, 1931.

Original wrappers with early Turkish avantgarde design. Cr. 8vo. (20 x 14 cm). In Turkish. 79 p. Stains on pages, wear on spine, light tears on extremities. Otherwise a good copy.

Scarce first edition of the fourth poetry book of Nâzim Hikmet, with illustrations and cover design made by the early avantgarde Turkish artist Abidin Dino (1913-1993). The book includes 23 poems.

Nâzim Hikmet, the poet who brought a new concept into Turkish Poetry, was born in Salonica. He was educated at "Mekteb-i Sultani", "Nisantasi Numune Mektebi" and then "Heybeliada Naval Academy". He left the Naval Academy due to poor health in 1920. He published his first poems in this period. At the beginning of 1921, he went to Anatolia to take part in the war of independence. His interest in the October Revolution in Russia took him to the USSR, where he befriended Vladimir Mayakovsky (1893-1930). Nâzim Hikmet returned to Turkey as a committed Marxist. The poetry he wrote then on reflected a new understanding and earned him great acclaim. Nâzim Hikmet was imprisoned many times because of his poetry. The last charges against him resulted in a 28-year prison sentence in 1938 for inciting mutiny in the navy. A campaign in support of Nâzim Hikmet's innocence started in 1949 in protest of his imprisonment and created significant reverberations abroad. With the passing of a general amnesty in 1950, Nâzim Hikmet was released from prison. Following his acquittal, Hikmet left the country due to political pressure. He was extradited from Turkish citizenship in 1951. The poet died in Moscow where he had lived until 1963. Without departing from the Turkish poetical tradition, Nâzim Hikmet was able to consistently renew his poetry. His most unchanging characteristics, however, were his belief in a bright future and his devotion to the people of his own country.

Only two institutional copies in OCLC: 634309957, 795598044.