Ozan Arif

Ozan Arif — Biography

Ozan Arif, whose real name was Arif Şirin, became one of the best-known bards among the Idealist (ülkücü) nationalist public, singing epic verse to the bağlama. His poems spoke of love for the homeland, the flag and the call to prayer, and annual memorials keep his name alive since his death in 2019.

He took up the saz at twelve and turned to folk literature through Kerem ile Aslı, Leyla ile Mecnun and the poets Karacaoğlan, Köroğlu and Dadaloğlu. In 1970 he won a gold medal at the Konya Âşıklar Bayramı, graduated from the teacher training school in Ordu and took a post in Devgeriş village, Samsun, where he spent nine years: five teaching, four as principal. He left teaching in 1979, lived in Cologne from 1980, and returned in 1991, when he ran for parliament on the joint MHP-RP list without being elected.

He gathered part of his poetry in Bir Devrin Destanı; his cassettes include Mamak'tan Gelen Mektup, Yazık Olur Vatana and Susmayacağım. He performed at MHP events and the Erciyes Zafer Kurultayı and was known for his closeness to Alparslan Türkeş. He and İsmail Türüt were acquitted in December 2009 in a trial over one of his songs. He died in Samsun on 13 February 2019 and was buried at Kıranköy Cemetery.