Cemal Süreya
Cemal Süreya, known by his given name as Cemalettin Seber (1931, Erzincan – 9 January 1990, Istanbul), was a Zaza Kurd[1] Alevi poet, writer, and translator. He was one of the pioneering poets of the İkinci Yeni (Second New Poetry) movement, a modernist movement in Turkish poetry. Although he made his first attempts at poetry with sketches in middle school and aruz in high school, his true poetic work began during his university years.
Also recorded as Cemal Süreyya · Cemalettin Seber · Cemal Süreya Seber
Cemal Süreya

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- Name
- Cemâl Süreya
- Birth Name
- Cemalettin Seber
- Born
- 1931
- Birthplace
- Erzincan, Turkey
- Died
- 9 January 1990
- Place of death
- Istanbul, Turkey
- Occupation
- Poet, writer
- Education
- Faculty of Political Science, Ankara University
- Full name
- Cemalettin Seber.
- Nationality
- Turkey.
- Known for
- Üvercinka, Göçebe, Beni Öp Sonra Doğur Beni, Uçurumda Açan, Sıcak Nal, Güz Bitigi and Sevda Sözleri.
- Honours
- Yeditepe Poetry Award, Turkish Language Association Poetry Award and Necatigil Poetry Award.
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Documentary summary
Cemal Süreya, known by his given name as Cemalettin Seber (1931, Erzincan – 9 January 1990, Istanbul), was a Zaza Kurd[1] Alevi poet, writer, and translator. He was one of the pioneering poets of the İkinci Yeni (Second New Poetry) movement, a modernist movement in Turkish poetry. Although he made his first attempts at poetry with sketches in middle school and aruz in high school, his true poetic work began during his university years.
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Note VALÉORINE
Cemal Süreya (1931–1990) was a civil servant, poet and translator, among other activities, of Turkish nationality. The civil servant was born Cemalettin Seber in Erzincan and died in Istanbul. Cemal Süreya was educated at Ankara University, Ankara University Faculty of Political Science and Haydarpaşa High School.
Among the works are Beni Öp Sonra Doğur Beni, Göçebe, Güz Bitigi and Sevda Sözleri, among others. Languages used include French and Turkish. Honours include Necatigil Poetry Award, Turkish Language Association Poetry Award and Yeditepe Poetry Award.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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Authority files
gnd · 119457393 · wikidata · Q982905 · wikipedia · Cemal Süreya
In this article
Biography
Biography
In addition to his poetry collections; Üvercinka (1958), Göçebe (1965), Beni Öp Sonra Doğur Beni (1973), Uçurumda Açan (1984), Sıcak Nal (1988), Güz Bitigi (1988), and Sevda Sözleri (1990); he also wrote essays, critiques, diaries, and anthologies. The most frequent themes in his works are love, women, loneliness, social and political criticism, death, the idea of God, portraits, and poetics in verse. He also translated nearly forty books from French into Turkish. Süreya, who held a socialist worldview, published the magazine Papirüs, in which he expressed his literary views and used it as a tool to express his ideas as an intellectual.
Cemal Süreya studied at Haydarpaşa High School, Ankara University Faculty of Political Science and Ankara University. The recorded working language is Turkish and French. Works named in the authority record are Üvercinka, Göçebe, Beni Öp Sonra Doğur Beni, Uçurumda Açan, Sıcak Nal and Güz Bitigi. Distinctions recorded are Yeditepe Poetry Award, Turkish Language Association Poetry Award and Necatigil Poetry Award.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Cemâl Süreya • Birth Name — Cemalettin Seber • Born — 1931 • Birthplace — Erzincan, Turkey • Died — 9 January 1990 • Place of death — Istanbul, Turkey • Occupation — Poet, writer • Years Active — 1953–1990 • Education — Faculty of Political Science, Ankara University • Children — 2 • Partner — Tomris Uyar (1964–1967) • Illustration — Bust of Cemal Süreya at a park named after him in Maltepe, Istanbul.
Biography
Biography
Cemal Süreya, whose real name was Cemalettin Seber, was born in Pülümür, Erzincan (now in Tunceli Province) in 1931. His exact birthday is unknown. He was born into a Zaza Kurd[2] Alevi-faith family that migrated from Pülümür to Erzincan. His Kurdish father, Hüseyin Seber, was born in Erzincan in 1905 and worked in the transportation business. His mother, Güllü Hanım, known as "Gülbeyaz", was born in Karatuş in 1915 into a Zaza family. His father died in a traffic accident in 1957 and his mother died at the age of twenty-three due to bleeding following a miscarriage. In 1938, at age seven, Cemal Süreya and his family were among 181 families forcibly deported from Dersim (Tunceli) to Bilecik. He later described the experience in his poem '1938 Sürgün Şiiri'.[3][4] He graduated from the Political Sciences Faculty of Ankara University. He was the founder and editor-in-chief of the Papirüs literary magazine. Cemal Süreya is a notable member of the Second New Generation of Turkish poetry, an abstract and postmodern movement created as a backlash against the popular and colloquial Garip movement. Love, mainly through its erotic character, is a recurrent theme of Süreya's works. Süreya's poems and articles were published in magazines such as Yeditepe, Yazko, Pazar Postası, Yeni Ulus, Oluşum, Türkiye Yazıları, Politika, Aydınlık, and Somut. He is known to have been a primary influence on the poetry of Sunay Akın. He lost a letter "y" from his pen name – originally Süreyya – due to losing a bet with Turkish poet Sezai Karakoç.[6]
Poetry
Poetry
• Üvercinka (1958) • Göçebe (1965) • Beni Öp Sonra Doğur Beni (1973) • Sevda Sözleri (Terms of Endearment, 1984) • Güz Bitiği (1988) • Sıcak Nal (1988) • Sevda Sözleri (1990)
Articles
Articles
• Şapkam Dolu Çiçekle (1976) • Günübirlik (1982) • Onüç Günün Mektupları (1990) • 99 Yüz (1990) • Günler (1991) • Aydınlık Yazıları/Paçal (1992) • Oluşum'da Cemal Süreya (1992) • Folklor Şiire Düşman (1992) • Papirüs'ten Başyazılar (1992) • Uzat Saçlarını Frigya (1992) • Aritmetik iyi Kuşlar Pekiyi (1993) – for children
Translations
Translations
• Kürtler: Sosyolojik ve Tarihi İnceleme by Basil Nikitin, translated into Turkish under the pseudonym C.S.[7][8]
Identity and origins
Identity and origins
Cemal Süreya was recorded at birth as Cemalettin Seber. His recorded languages were Turkish, French and Kurdish. His recorded confession was Alevism. He married Zühal Tekkanat.
Identity
Identity
Cemal Süreya is recorded as having studied at Haydarpaşa High School, Ankara University Faculty of Political Science and Ankara University. Work and production. Works recorded as notable number 7: Üvercinka, Göçebe, Beni Öp Sonra Doğur Beni, Uçurumda Açan, Sıcak Nal, Güz Bitigi and Sevda Sözleri.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1931
Cemal Süreya born at Erzincan.
1990
Cemal Süreya died at Istanbul.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Erzincan.
Birth place
Istanbul.
Death place
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q982905: Cemal Süreya
Reputable secondary · Wikimedia Foundation
- “Cemal Süreya”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority file
- Gemeinsame Normdatei 119457393, Cemal Süreya.
Unverified · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Ülkesi Türkçe, şiiri alev olan şair: Cemal Süreya soL haber. haber.sol.org.tr.
- 2.Ülkesi Türkçe, şiiri alev olan şair: Cemal Süreya soL haber. haber.sol.org.tr.
- 3.Cemal Süreya da Dersim'den sürgün edilmiş. Gazete Vatan. 2021-09-29.
- 4.'Bizi bir köye attılar' diyen Cemal Süreya da Dersim'den sürgün edilmiş. T24.
- 5.Gazetesi, Evrensel. Bizi kamyona doldurdular. Evrensel.net.
- 6.Gastebursa.com. Cemal Süreya 'y' harfini nasıl kaybetti?. 12 November 2011.
- 7.Haber Detay. www.ulkucudunya.com.
- 8.Duvar, Gazete. Hem sürgün, hem parasız, hem yatılı. www.gazeteduvar.com.tr. 2021-11-01.
- 9.KÜRTLER. TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi.
References
Citations
References
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authority file
Gemeinsame Normdatei 119457393, Cemal Süreya.Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Partially resolvedreference work
Wikidata, structured authority record Q982905: Cemal SüreyaWikimedia Foundation
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolved
People, houses and institutions
Knowledge graph
People, houses and institutions
Teachers, collaborators, publishers and institutions recorded against this person, each on a stated basis.
Studied at
1- Ankara UniversityOrganisation
Established from a fact already recorded on a verified source.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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