Film festival selects winner for poetry

ANTALYA – Anatolia News Agency

Şükrü Erbaş has been chosen as this year’s winner of the Golden Orange Poetry Award for his work “Bağbozumu Şarkıları” (Songs of the Harvest), according to the event’s organizing committee.

Erbaş’s poems display a resistance against the dominance of the Zeitgeist on individuals and society, the selection committee said in a statement.

Noting that Erbaş’s poetry includes the roots of traditional poetry while also featuring aspects of modern poetry, the team also said the poet had a very unique way of using Turkish.

The author’s poetry centers on the themes of separation, love, pain and death, while also acting like a sanctuary against the hardness of life.

The importance of mother tongue

Erbaş also gives importance to his mother tongue while struggling to protect the freedom of all languages spoken in Anatolia. The selection committee consisted of writers and literary critics such as Doğan Hızlan, Cevat Çapan, Ahmet İnam, Hüseyin Ferhad and the winner of last year’s award, Mahmut Temizyürek. Erbaş will receive his award March 23 at a ceremony held at the Antalya Culture Center.