Karagöz buys rags, loves “musique,” quotes Orhan Veli Kanık

Posted on September 30, 2012 by lizcameron

en: Karagöz (Shadow play) hu: Karagöz (Árnyjáték)

Karagöz recites his poem to Hacivad Bey, who is confused by rags and musique (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

After honoring the Jewish high holy days in an uncharacteristic respectful silence and period of meditation and contemplation, Karagöz is back in full force.  Despite all of his quiet days, he has been observing Celebi, Tiryaki and Esma sharing their favorite poetry with me, a.k.a. m’lady, and is not to be outdone.

In true form, that strange oppositional puppet man has chosen an odd one from Orhan Veli Kanik, and it fits Karagöz perfectly….see what you think!

I buy rags
and turn them into stars
Musique is the food of the soul
I am crazy about musique
I write poetry
I write poetry and buy rags
In exchange for rags I buy musiques
If also I could be a fish in a bottle of rakı..!

Eskiler alıyorum
Alıp yıldız yapıyorum
Musiki ruhun gıdasıdır
Musikiye bayılıyorum
Şiir yazıyorum
Şiir yazıp eskiler alıyorum
Eskiler verip musikiler alıyorum
Bir de rakı şişesinde balık olsam.

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Esma intones Özdemir Asaf’s “Moment”

Posted on September 29, 2012 by lizcameron

Esma has a moment…

Lately, the puppets have been on a poetry kick.  Esma has not shied away from this effort, but has instead surrounded herself with poems.  I can usually find her swaying in the late summer breeze atop an echinacea flower, with a stack of books at her flower height, pouring over the pages in order to wash herself in words.  Ever the hippie, this puppet woman has decided on her favorite for the week…as usual, it rings of the theme of building bridges of understanding and connection.  See what you think of Özdemir Asaf’s moment…

 

 

Laughing is approaching someone else;
All of a sudden it turns two people into one..
Even if you build a castle from your memories and take shelter,
One life won’t be enough for one person alone.

 

English: An overview photo of the canal separa...

English: An overview photo of the canal separating East-West Istanbul, taken from the Galata Tower. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Gülüş bir yanaşımdır bir öbür kişiye;
Birden iki kişiyi döndürür bir kişiye..
Anılarından kale yapıp sığınsa bile,
Yetmez yalnız başına bir ömür bir kişiye.

 

Posted in Introducing the Karagöz puppets, Turkish Art, Visits from the Karagöz puppets | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Tiryaki’s turn: Sen benim sarhoşluğumsun…

Posted on September 28, 2012 by lizcameron

Tiryaki is my narcoleptic, opium-addicted puppet…he is somewhat of a surfer dude type in the puppet lineup in my mind. He is pining for lost love, it turns out.

Lately, the puppets have been reading poetry again.  Maybe it is the autumnal weather and maudlin sunshine moments on the stone steps of the back porch that eggs them on so to find love poems that are tinged a bit with sad…I am not sure.  In any case, they are all tromping around my brain showing me their favorites, and today it was Tiryaki who caught my ear first thing in the morning…

Tiryaki, my puppet who is addicted to opium, wants to share his favorite poem of late…he wants us to know this is about his lost love, the one that sent him into the opium dens for life…maybe someday we will know more about this…but for now it’s all about the pipe for this guy…he just whispered to me that this poem is about love and is from none other than the famous poet Nazim Hikmet…

You are my drunkenness…
I did not sober up, as if I can do that;
I don’t want to anyway.
I have a headache, my knees are full of scars
I am in mud all around
I struggle to walk towards your hesitant light.

Sen benim sarhoşluğumsun…
Ne ayıldım, ne ayılabilirim,
Ne ayılmak isterim.
Başım ağır, dizlerim parçalanmış
Üstüm başım çamur içinde
Yanıp-sönen ışığına düşe kalka giderim.

Kanbur Tiryaki

Kanbur Tiryaki (Photo credit: kerim)

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