Nâzim Hikmet (1902-1963), Turkey's best-loved poet and a commanding
presence in its public life, lived through a turbulent era--the end of
the Ottoman Empire, the rise of Communist Russia, and the birth of the
Turkish Republic. Born into the Ottoman elite, Hikmet embraced Communist
ideals and joined the revolutionary ranks at nineteen. Of passionate
temperament, he lived his life full-tilt, deeply romantic in his loves
and uncompromising in his politics--for which he spent more than a third
of his life in prisons or in exile. His stirring free verse in simple
words, praising his country, his women, and the common man, was
considered "subversive" and banned for decades. Today it is available in
more than fifty languages, and Hikmet is recognized worldwide as a major
twentieth-century poet.