Magin_Edward-thesis

41
the classical poets, they wrote more predominantly in Kurdish. Still, in Nalbend’s poetry
there are a good number of Arabic words, which the author may have used in lieu of
Kurdish words for reasons of syllable count or meter. The next period in Northern
Kurdish poetry is called the New period. According to Professor Mohamed Bakir of
Dohuk University, the poetry of Abdulrahman Muzirî (b. 1946), who I was fortunate to
hear at a poetry festival in Dohuk during the autumn of 2010, is representative of this
style of poetry. My understanding is that there are two elements that mark this period.
The first is that poets were moved to write even more exclusively in Kurdish than the
poets of the Neo-classical period. The second feature of this time is the beginning of
poetry in free verse. One important aspect of poetry that does seem to have carried over
from the Neo-classical period to the New period is the themes which poets wrote about.
From the information I have gathered, Cegerxwîn (1903-1984), Badirxan Sindî (b. 1943),
and Mu’eyed Teyb (b. 1957) would be considered poets of this period, though perhaps
some more recent poetry of Sindî and Teyb might be considered as modern. This brings
us to the Modern period, of which Mihsin Quçan (b. 1954) is a representative example.
The poetry of this period, which began in the 1980s, exhibits freedom from traditional
themes and is composed only of free verse form. 22
3.1.1 Neo-classical period
Ahmed Nalbend was born in 1891 and lived in the town of Barmanê. He did not
aspire to learn his father’s blacksmith trade, but rather chose religious studies at the
mosque where he learned about poetry. Like many of the approximately twenty poets of
his time, he was influenced by Ahmed Cezîrî and Ahmed Xanî, two renowned poets from
centuries before him. These older poets wrote in the classical style, using form, meter,
and rhythm and incorporated words from other languages in their poetry—specifically
Farsi, Arabic and Turkish. Nalbend emulated the classical style of these poets but
22 The information on the periods of Northern Kurdish poetry was obtained via personal correspondence
with Prof. Mohamed Bakir of Dohuk University.