New photos of poet Nazım Hikmet found in Czechia

PRAGUE

Dozens of never-before-seen photos of the prominent Turkish poet and novelist Nazım Hikmet during his time in Prague when he was in exile between 1956 and 1958 have been found in Czechia’s National Theater archives.

The photos unknown until today were shot while Hikmet was acting or following the rehearsals of his plays performed on stages.

His four plays were translated into the Czech language and performed on stage. Apart from the photos, newspaper reviews about his plays and some booklets about the acts were also brought out.

Born in 1902 in Thessaloniki, which was then a part of the Ottoman Empire, Hikmet developed interest in poetry in at a young age. Influenced by the young Soviet poets who advocated futurism, Hikmet is known as a “romantic communist” and has repeatedly been arrested for his political beliefs. Hikmet, who died in 1963 at the age of 61, spent much of his life in exile.

During his days in Prague, he was said to have an affair with Czech artist Sona Schulzova Danielova. He wrote a poem named “3 Leylek Lokantası” (The Three Storks’ Restaurant) for Danielova after her death in 1959.

One of Hikmet’s photographs is hung at the Slavia Cafe in Prague which he used to visit often.