Sherko Bekas
Sherko Fayaq Abdullah (2 May 1940 – 4 August 2013), was a Kurdish poet. He was born on 2 May 1940 in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq as the son of the poet Faiq Bekas. He is widely regarded as one of the poets who founded contemporary Kurdish poetry.
Also recorded as Şêrko Bêkes · Sherko Fayaq Abdullah
Sherko Bekas
Pirehelokan · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Name
- Sherko Bekas
- Birth Name
- Shêrko Fayeq Abdulla Bêkes
- Born
- 2 May 1940
- Birthplace
- Sulaymaniyah, Kingdom of Iraq (present-day Silêmanî, Kurdistan Region)
- Died
- 4 August 2013
- Place of death
- Stockholm, Sweden
- Occupation
- Poet
- Nationality
- Iraq
- Honours
- Kurt Tucholsky Prize
- Languages
- Arabic · Kurdish
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Documentary summary
Sherko Fayaq Abdullah (2 May 1940 – 4 August 2013), was a Kurdish poet. He was born on 2 May 1940 in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq as the son of the poet Faiq Bekas. He is widely regarded as one of the poets who founded contemporary Kurdish poetry.
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Note VALÉORINE
Sherko Bekas (1940–2013) was a poet and writer, a national of Iraq. The poet was born in Sulaymaniyah and died in Stockholm.
Languages used include Arabic, Kurdish and Kurdish language. Honours include Kurt Tucholsky Prize.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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wikidata · Q1395748 · wikipedia · Sherko Bekas
In this article
Biography
Biography
Sherko's poetry explores liberty, love, life, and nature while reflecting the contemporary political, cultural, and spiritual conditions of the Kurdish people. Sherko's poetry on freedom and liberty has influenced many poets such as Ahmad Shamlou and Ali Salehi.
Bust model showing Sherko Bekas (sherko bikas). Sculptor Shwan Kamal
Zhian giorges
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Sherko Bekas • Birth Name — Shêrko Fayeq Abdulla Bêkes • Born — 2 May 1940 • Birthplace — Sulaymaniyah, Kingdom of Iraq (present-day Silêmanî, Kurdistan Region) • Died — 4 August 2013 • Place of death — Stockholm, Sweden • Occupation — Poet • Genre — * Poetry • parable • short story
Biograph
Biograph
Sherko Bekes, the son of Fayaq Bekas and Shafiqa Saeedi, was born on 2 May 1940 in the Goizha neighborhood of Sulaymaniyah. After the death of his father, at the age of 8, he lived in extreme poverty and managed to complete high school with great difficulty. He was seventeen years old when he published his first poem in Zhin newspaper. In 1965, Bekas joined the Kurdish liberation movement and worked in the movement's radio station, The Voice of Kurdistan. In 1968, he published the first collection of poems, and he married Nasrin Mirza in 1969. He died of cancer in Stockholm, Sweden on 4 August 2013. Sherko Bekas with his wife Nasrin Mirza
Literary works
Literary works
In 1971, Bekas introduced the "Rûwange" (vision) element into Kurdish poetry; this was a break from the strict traditional rules of poetry, such as rhyme. The poems translated in "The Secret Diary of a Rose" by Reingard and Shirwan Mirza, with Renate Saljoghi, are examples of this style. For the first time, he introduced the "poster poem" (a term originating from sculpture and painting) in 1975 into Kurdish poetry. Bekas' works have been translated into Arabic, Swedish, Danish, Dutch, Italian, French and English. In 1987, he was awarded the "Tucholsky scholarship" of the Pen club in Stockholm, and in the same year, he was awarded the freedom prize of the city of Florence. A two-volume collection of his poetry works has been published in Kurdish under the title "Sherko Bekas' Diwan" in Sweden. These two 1000-page volumes contain his poetic works in their entirety. He has read his poems in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, United Kingdom, Russia, and Italy, where he was named honorary citizen of Milan. He visited the United States in 1990.
Identity
Identity
Sherko Bekas is recorded with the occupation writer. Recorded as a citizen of Iraq.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1940
Sherko Bekas was born on 2 May 1940.
2013
Sherko Bekas died on 4 August 2013.
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.
Sulaymaniyah.
Birth place
Stockholm.
Death place
Books
• Tirîfey Helbest, Salman al-Azami Publishers, Iraq, 1968. • Kawey Asinger: Dastanêkî honrawayî sar shanoye le no tabloda, Saydiyan Publishers, Mahabad, Iran, 1971. • Marâyâ saghírah, illustrerad by Fuad Ali, 125 pp., Al-ahâli Publishers, Damascus, Syria, 1988. • Dall: çîrokî şê'r, Poem, 44 pp., Apec Publishers, Sweden, 1989. • Derbendî Pepûle: A Long Poem, 228 pp., Apec Publishers, Sweden, 1991. • Små speglar: dikter 1978–1989. – Norsborg: Publ. House of Kurdistan, 1989. – 108 s. – • Les petits miroirs: poèmes, Translation of his poems in French, by Kamal Maarof, Preface by Guillevic, 95 pp., L'Harmattan Publishers, Paris, 1995. • Dîwanî Şêrko Bêkes, Collection of Poems, vol. I, 992 pp., Sara Publishers, Stockholm, 1990. • Dîwanî Şêrko Bêkes, Collection of Poems, vol. II, 843 pp., Sara Publishers, Stockholm, 1992. • Dîwanî Şêrko Bêkes, Collection of Poems, vol. III, 551 pp., Apec Publishers, Stockholm, 1995. • Gulbijêrek ji helbestên (Selected Poems), 110 pp., Apec Publishers, 1991. • Geheimnisse der Nacht pflücken: Gedichte / aus dem Kurdischen von Reingard und Shirwan Mirza und Renate Saljoghi, 95 pp., Unionsverlag Publishers, Zürich, 1993. • Mêrgî zam-, mêrgî hetaw, 182 pp., Kurdistans folkförb., Stockholm, 1996. • Xaç û mar û roj-jimêrî şa'êrê, A poetic novel, 374 pp., Apec Publishers, Stockholm, 1997. • The secret diary of a rose: a journey through poetic Kurdistan, Translated into English by Reingard and Shirwan Mirza; revised by Luise von Flotow, Ashti Bibani, 1997. • Bonname: Şê'r. Binkey Edeb û Rûnakbîrî Gelawêj, Sulaimaniya, Iraq 1998. • Çirakanî ser helemût: pexşan, Sardam Publishers, Iraq, 1999. • Piyawî la-darsew: Şê'r. Sulaimaniya, Iraq, 2000. • Qesîdey Rengdan, Xak Publishing Center, Sulaimaniya, Iraq, 2001. • Ezmûn: 1985–2000, Edited by Yasin Umar, Sardam Publishers, Sulaimaniya, Iraq, 2001. • Jîn û Baran, Poem. Silêmanî Library, 2001. • Ji nav Şêrên min. Avesta Publishers, Istanbul, Turkey, 2001.. • Xom ew water balindem!, 237 pp., Sardam Publishers, Sulaimaniya, Iraq, 2002. • Kukuxîtya bizêweke, Children's poetry, Sardam Publishers, Sulaimaniya, 2003.
sculpture
At the entrance of the Sardaam Publishing House on Salim Street in the city of Slemani, a portrait-style sculpture has been created, three times larger than life. It was made in 2014 by the Kurdish artist and sculptor Shwan Kamal. In Azadi Park, on the Sherko Bekas hill, a wall relief in the form of a monument has also been created. This project was completed in 2015 by sculptor Shwan Kamal, at the request and commission of the poet’s family.
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Sherko Bekas”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q1395748: Sherko Bekas
General reference · Wikidata
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.س.ح. شێرکۆ بێکەس، شاعیری سەدەیەک. Roj News. 25 February 2020.
- 2.M. Ibrahim, "The construction of the speaker and fictional world in the small mirrors: Critical stylistic analysis," University of Huddersfield, 2018.
- 3.شێرکۆ بێکەس.
- 4.:sv:Schwan Kamal
- 5.https://kurdipedia.org/default.aspx?q=20250701131245643712&lng=13
- 6.https://www.ava.news/news/1755
- 7.https://www.kurdistan24.net/ckb/story/238071
References
Citations
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General reference
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Died at
1- StockholmPlace
Established from a fact already recorded on a verified source.
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
The authorities additionally record the headings Şêrko Bêkes and Sherko Fayaq Abdullah.
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 18 August 2026.
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