"How lovers yearn! Your love will kill them, " is a line from a poem by Yunus Emre.
This is a Turkish poet and follower of Sufism, who had a great influence on the culture of the ancient civilization of Anatolia (modern Turkey). Yunus Emre was well versed in Sufi philosophy. He was especially interested in the work of the 13th-century Sufis, such as Jalaladdin Rumi. Like Rumi, Yunus Emre became the leading representative of Sufism in Anatolia, but gained great fame: after his death he was revered as a saint.
He wrote in the Old Turkish (Anatolian) language. The UNESCO General Conference unanimously proclaimed 1991 (the 750th anniversary of the poet's birth) "International Year of Yunus Emre." We will tell you more about this amazing person.
Biography
Yunus Emre was allegedly born in 1240 in Anatolia, the Asian part of modern Turkey. Little is known about the poet's life: tiny moments of biography are collected from legends and autobiographical allusions in his works.
According to one often repeated legend, once, when the harvest in his village failed, Yunus Emre came to the house of a local dervish (a Muslim analogue of a monk) to ask for food. There he met Haji Bektash, the founder of Bektashi (Sufi order). Yunus Emre begged the dervish about wheat, instead Haji Bektas offered him his blessing. Three times Yunus refused the offer, and in the end, he received wheat. On the way home, Yunus realized his mistake and headed back to the dervish’s house to receive a blessing. But Haji Bektash told Yunus that he had missed his chance and sent Taptuk Emre to his successor. Thus began 40 years of spiritual training for Yunus with the teacher Taptuk, during which the student began to write Sufi poetry.
From the poems of the poet it can be understood that he was well educated: poetry demonstrates knowledge of the sciences of that time, as well as the ability to express itself in Persian and Arabic along with Turkish.
In addition, the poet’s poems also reveal some biographical details: Yunus was married, had children, traveled to Anatolia and Damascus.
Fame
Like the Oguz work “Kitabi dede Korkud” (“The book of my grandfather Korkuda”), the Oguz heroic epos, Turkish folklore, which inspired Yunus Emre to write famous lines, his poems were spread among his contemporaries by word of mouth.
Such a strictly oral literary tradition continued for quite some time. After the Mongol invasion of Anatolia, which was facilitated by the defeat of the Koni Sultanate at the Battle of Köse-dag in 1243, a period of prosperity of Islamic Sufi literature began in Anatolia, and Yunus Emre became one of the most respected poets of his time.
His poems had a great influence on the late Turkish Sufis and inspired poets of the Renaissance after 1910.
Yunus Emre is still a popular figure in a number of countries, stretching from Azerbaijan to the Balkans: seven completely different and scattered across several regions states still argue about where the great poet’s grave is located.
Poetry
The poems of Yunus Emre, despite the fact that at first glance seem quite simple, testify to the poet’s ability to clearly and clearly describe rather difficult and thoughtful Sufi concepts. He devoted his life to making his teachings inspirational in poetic form and easy for ordinary people to understand. He was the first to express such ideas in a language close to Turkish, popularly used at that time.
Style
Yunus Emre had a huge influence on Turkish literature. He is one of the first poets of his time to write his works in spoken Turkish, and not in Persian or Arabic. The style of Yunus Emre is considered very close to the speech of his contemporaries in Central and Western Anatolia - this is the language of folk songs, tales, riddles and proverbs.
Yunus's poems, thoroughly penetrated by a deep feeling, are devoted mainly to the themes of divine love and human destiny. Basically, he wrote in a simple, almost strict style, the poetic size always corresponded to that adopted in the folk poetry of Anatolia.
Series
Yunus Emre is a personality that still inspires many. It is no accident that the series was dedicated to his life. The Turkish director Kursat Ryzbaz, who previously shot documentaries, took up the shooting of the film "Yunus Emre: The Way of Love". The series was released in Turkey in 2015. He talks about the life of a legendary person, showing the way from the Sharia judge to the great poet.
