Skip to content

Scottish Poetry Library

Register/Sign in
Shopping Bag Shopping Bag
Bringing people and poems together
  • Home
  • COVID-19
    • Re-Opening FAQ
  • Poetry
    • Poems
    • Poets
    • Poetry Ambassadors 2020
    • Best Scottish Poems
    • Podcasts
    • Poetry and Mindfulness
    • Our National Poet
    • Posters
    • Publishers
  • Library
    • Become a borrower
    • Catalogue
    • Collections
    • Ask a librarian
    • Copyright enquiries
  • Learning
    • National Poetry Day 2019
    • National Poetry Day archive
    • SQA set texts
    • Learning resources
    • New to poetry?
    • Advice for poets
  • Events
    • What’s On
    • Venue hire
  • Shop
    • New
    • Pocket Poetry Anthologies
    • Scottish Poetry
    • Poetry Pamphlet Cards
    • Scotland’s Makar
    • Help
  • About us
    • Our story
    • Our people
    • Our projects
    • Jobs
    • Our building
    • FAQs
    • Find us
  • Support us
    • Become a Friend
    • Donate
    • Easy Fundraising
  • Blog
Shopping BagShopping Bag
Ask a librarian
  • Home
  • >
  • Poetry
    • >
  • Khalil Reza Uluturk
    • >
  • The Poet’s Voice
Donate Donate icon Ask a Librarian Ask a Librarian icon

The Poet’s Voice

Khalil Reza Uluturk

I don’t want freedom gram by gram, grain by grain.
I have to break this steel chain with my teeth!
I don’t want freedom as a drug, as a medicine,
I want it as the sun, as the earth, as the heavens!
Step, step aside, you invader!
I am the loud voice of this land!
I don’t need a puny spring,
I am thirsting for oceans!

Khalil Reza Uluturk

from Language for a New Century; Contemporary Poetry from the Middle East, Asia and Beyond, edited by Tina Chang, Nathalie Handal and Ravi Shankar (New York & London: W. W. Norton & Co, 2008)

translated by Aynur H. Imecer

Reproduced by kind permission of the translator, via Azerbaijan International.

Tags:

Azerbaijan freedom power and control

About this poem

This poem, representing Azerbaijan, is part of The Written World – our collaboration with BBC radio to broadcast a poem from every single nation competing in London 2012.

Share this
Facebook
Twitter
Email

Learn more

Khalil Reza Uluturk1932 - 1994

Khalil Reza Uluturk was born in Salyan, Azerbaijan in 1932. He gained a degree from the Department of Journalism at Azerbaijan State University (Baku State University), then studied Literature for Writers and Poets at the Institute of Literature. From...
More about Khalil Reza Uluturk

Join

Become a Borrower or support our work by becoming a Friend of SPL.
Join us

Online Shop

Browse our range of poetry books, cards and gifts in our online shop.
Shop now
  • Newsletter signup
  • Accessibility
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
Scottish Poetry Library
5 Crichton's Close, Canongate
Edinburgh EH8 8DT
Tel: +44 (0)131 557 2876
© Scottish Poetry Library 2021.
The Scottish Poetry Library is a registered charity (No. SCO23311).
City of Edinburgh logo Green Arts Initiative logo Creative Scotland logo
By leaves we live

Following Scottish Government guidelines, the Scottish Poetry Library is now open to the public Mon-Fri, 10am-2pm. For more information, click COVID-19 in the menu bar above. Dismiss