The voice of the heart, the land of olives

The title of this article is also the name of a book. It is a short story collection by Mehmet Başaran, one of the great figures raised in the light of the Village Institutes... He bid farewell to the world around this time 10 years ago. I had the good fortune to know him, to chat with him, to kiss his hand, to browse the books in his library, to see the documents in his archive—especially those concerning the TÖS (Teachers' Union of Turkey) and the Revolutionary Education Council—to have him sign his books, and to listen to his stories told in that booming voice of his.

"The olive is undoubtedly the sage of the trees... It stands in a gravity, a silence that makes even the most frail among them command respect... No one knows their age. Some bear the traces of Rome, of Byzantium... Times have passed, owners have changed, but they remain in their own immortality... Still being their own selves," he says in 'The Voice of the Heart, the Land of Olives' (Yüreğin Sesi Zeytin Ülkesi). He describes the Kaz Mountains, life intertwined with mythology, nature, and the harsh conditions in the land of olives. And he also touches upon the side of life laden with the 'bitterness of the olive'...

Since the olive is one of the longest-living trees and is also known as the 'immortal tree,' I wanted to commemorate Mehmet Başaran and recall his book during these days when the olive is on the agenda.

It is stated that there are 205 million olive trees in Turkey. While approximately 172 million of these trees bear fruit, it is reported that 32 million 500 thousand do not. Protecting our 'tree of life,' which has countless benefits for nature and biodiversity due to its ability to reduce soil erosion and its longevity, as well as for human health due to its antioxidant properties, and increasing its numbers is also important for our future.

“To live is only to love, believe me.

Those who do not love do not live in our world.

To live by appearing in water, in soil, in people;

like an olive tree.

Like an olive tree, how beautiful

to be near the sea,

light on your extending branches, your leaves

roots deep down.

Like an olive tree, to live

loving for a thousand years every day...”

Arif Damar

THE 11TH BOOK BY AN AUTHOR WASHED IN THE RIVER OF POETRY WITH STORIES

Izmir-based author and poet Erdinç Gültekin continues to produce. He released his eleventh book a short while ago. His new book, 'Arıza Var' (There is a Malfunction) (Mahal Edebiyat), is a collection of short stories...

Erdinç Gültekin is an author who has internalized the stories of the intellectual heritage of these lands—such as Sabahattin Ali, Fakir Baykurt, Bekir Yıldız, Osman Şahin, Sulhi Dölek, Muzaffer Buyrukçu, and Demirtaş Ceyhun—and who transfers the knowledge he has kneaded with world literature into his works. He tells of what he has lived and seen in his stories and poems. He writes about people who are resentful of their wounds, about lives that the system has made selfish, polluted, and pitted against one another... In an age where happiness is both very close and very far away, he tells the stories of a person who believes in the constructive, instructive, and enlightening power of the short story...

Gültekin, who has published his 8th short story collection and signed his 11th work in total including 3 poetry books, deserves praise for his labor, his mind, and his pen. Congratulating and supporting an author and ensuring they have 'plenty of readers' is possible by buying their book. Am I wrong?