Metin Altıok


Metin Altıok was a Turkish poet of Alevi faith, who - together with 34 other people, mostly Alevi intellectuals - fell victim to the 1993 Sivas massacre.

Life

Metin Altıok was born in Bergama, İzmir Province, Turkey.
Metin Altıok studied philosophy at Ankara University. After graduating he went on working first as a civil servant and subsequently as a teacher.
He held teaching posts in various Anatolian cities, and taught for several years at the religious İmam Hatip school in the city of Bingöl.
Altıok published his first collection of poems, Gezgin, in 1976, which was followed two years later by Yerleşik yabancı and eight additional collections until 1992. His works were awarded several literary prizes. In addition to his literary achievements, he engaged in drawing with pen and charcoal.
On 2 July 1993 he was killed while attending a cultural festival in the central Turkish city of Sivas, when a group of radical Salafists set fire to the hotel in which the festival was held.
In 2003, the prominent Turkish composer Fazıl Say devoted an oratorio to Altıok, who was a friend of Say.

Literary awards