By Heidi Trautmann
There is a new cultural venue in Kyrenia to reckon with: The Library. It opened approximately a year ago in a beautifully renovated building opposite the Colony Hotel and next to the House and Garden Restaurant.
On the occasion of the celebration of the 47th Library Week – I will find out how many libraries there are on the island next time I meet the Director of the Cultural Department in Nicosia – there were several cultural events taking place and to one of them I went, that was a Poetry Evening with the poet Beste Sakallı accompanied by the guitarist Duygu Üstündüf. There is a centre room best suited for such events equipped with rows of chairs and the atmosphere of the house does the rest. It smells of literature among the many high shelves full of books, a room to feel very comfortable in.
Beste Sakallı, I know her very well, has published several poetry books and from one she was reading with her well reciting voice. She is at home in Iskele and there she not only teaches literature but also organizes the cultural scene for the Iskele Municipality.
I have asked her to let me have some of the poems translated into English for you to show but this takes time. So, I listened to the flow of her voice, the melody of the poem, softly accompanied by Duygu on the guitar. It was a very pleasant evening; so very peaceful it is to spend a little time with poetry in these troubled times.