Turkish poet Sezai Karakoc’s lyricism and political vision still resonates

Three years since his passing, Turkish poet Sezai Karakoc’s vision remains as poignant as ever. A philosopher-poet who blended the spiritual with the literary, he spoke to a fractured Islamic world, urging it to rediscover its essence not as a nostalgic relic but as a source of renewal.

Karakoc’s poetry, essays, and magazine Dirilis (Resurrection) framed this vision with elegant force. The magazine married Islamic thought with literary ambition. Over the decades, it became a platform for cultivating new thinkers and engaging with the philosophical currents of the time.

His intellectual project, Dirilis, aimed to inspire a rebirth of civilisation rooted in Islamic principles. Karakoc saw hope as central to his mission. He believed that the Muslim world could transcend its divisions and stagnation to create a just and peaceful future.

Freedom, as he defined it, was spiritual as much as political—a release from materialism, oppression, and conformity to anything but divine will. This conviction shaped both his poetry and his activism, leaving a legacy of intellectual independence.

Karakoc’s poetry reached its pinnacle with Mona Rosa, a work that cemented his reputation as one of Türkiye’s literary greats.

Even President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is Karakoc’s fan, quoting the poet in several speeches, especially verses from the poem 'From the Country of Exile to the Capital of Capitals'.

Karakoc’s prose, meanwhile, expressed a deep affinity for Istanbul, which he described as the spiritual epicentre of civilisation in his works.

In his acclaimed poem Otesini Soylemeyecegim (I Would Not Tell You All), Karakoc channels the voice of a young Muslim girl confronting “the civilised man,” a veiled salute to Algeria’s anti-colonial struggle.

This ideological edge also emerged in Kan İcinde Gunes (Sun in Blood), a poem inspired by Hungary’s 1956 uprising against Soviet occupation, earning him the “Freedom Medal” from the Hungarian Writers in Exile Association.

Islam as a foundation, not a reaction

Karakoc’s intellectual companions recall a man of unassuming warmth and remarkable depth.

Temel Haziroglu, a writer, and confidante, for over two decades, described evenings of casual conversation that turned into intense, literary and philosophical exchanges lasting until dawn.

“Sezai Bey did not define himself by reacting to others,” Haziroglu said. “He argued that instead of opposing the West, Muslims should focus on Islam as a constructive foundation. His idea of ‘resurrection’ was not about rejection but about renewal through principles of faith and justice.”

Haziroglu emphasised that Karakoc was not merely reactionary but deeply rooted in the essence of Islamic civilisation: "For him, Islamic civilisation was the foundation. This profound observation alone demonstrates Karakoc’s brilliance and intellectual mastery."

Poetry as moral compass

For Karakoc, poetry was a means of conveying wisdom. Dr Savas Safak Barkcin, an author, described him as a poet-philosopher who “distilled life’s essence into words.”

Barkcin also noted Karakoc’s disdain for worldly accolades: “Though he had opportunities for prestige—career advancements, awards, even an all-expenses-paid pilgrimage to Mecca—he turned them all down. He chose humility over recognition, selflessness over ease.”

Karakoc is one of the two or three most influential figures whose ideas have profoundly shaped my worldview," Barkcin added.

Architect of a civilisational vision

Karakoc was as much a theorist as he was an artist.

According to Dr Yılmaz Dascioglu, a professor of Turkish literature, his work blended tradition with modernity in a way that few have matched.

“Karakoc’s originality lies in his ability to envision how traditional values can be reinterpreted and revitalised in the modern world—a goal he pursued throughout his life with his works. His literary universe reflects a civilisation rooted in Islamic culture, history, and geography, as seen in his references to cities like Baghdad, Damascus, Makkah, Medinah, Jerusalem, and Istanbul.”

His work blends simplicity with grandeur. Dascioglu noted that Karakoc’s poetry flows effortlessly, marked by evocative imagery, cultural depth, and a mastery of technique: “Even his depictions of iconic figures like Mawlana Rumi and Shams Tabrizi transcended mere history, portraying them as a symbolic representation of the union between East and West.”

Early life and influences

Balancing his poetic ambitions with a bureaucratic career, Karakoc lived a busy life—public finance auditor by day, a poet of ideological irony by night.

Karakoc was born in 1933 in Ergani, Diyarbakir, a small town in southeastern Türkiye. His parents, survivors of the brutal Caucasus campaigns of the First World War, embodied the resilience that would define their son’s life.

His early years, spent in modest towns like Maden and Dicle, were marked by hardship but also by an unquenchable appetite for learning.

A scholarship to Maras Secondary School brought him a step closer to academic distinction. By the time he graduated from Gaziantep High School, Karakoc had immersed himself in epic tales like Battal Gazi and Muhammediye, which melded heroism with mysticism.

By the time he graduated in 1955, he was a young intellectual determined to awaken the spiritual and cultural potential of his homeland. The mid-1950s marked a turning point in Karakoc’s creative journey, as his poetry began to intertwine free verse with sharp political undertones.

His intellectual curiosity broadened further at Ankara University’s Faculty of Political Sciences, where he encountered both Western classics and Islamic luminaries, laying the foundations of his worldview.

In Ankara, he discovered Buyuk Dogu (Great East), a magazine edited by the poet Necip Fazıl Kısakurek. Karakoc became a devoted reader and, later, a contributor.

Karakoc was awarded Türkiye's Presidential Culture and Arts Award in 2011. He lived a solitary life and never married.

Karakoc’s legacy, shaped by a synthesis of lyricism and conviction, stands as a cornerstone of Turkish literature. His travels through Türkiye revealed the struggles of its people.

As his poem, Shahdamar, declares, “We are horses that run even after the race is over.”