Sunay Akın facts for kids
Sunay Akın (born September 12, 1962) is a famous Turkish poet, writer, TV host, and journalist. He is also known for being a kind person who helps others. He started the amazing Istanbul Toy Museum.
Sunay Akın was born in Trabzon, Turkey. He is most famous for his poems, which are often short, gentle, and full of feeling. He also likes to use humor and wordplay in his writing. Two poets who greatly influenced his work are Orhan Veli Kanık and Cemal Süreya.
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The Toy Museum Founder
Sunay Akın has a huge collection of over 7,000 toys! Some of these toys are almost 200 years old. About 4,000 of them are shown at the İstanbul Toy Museum, which he opened in 2005. It's a wonderful place where visitors can see toys from different times and learn about their history.
TV and Radio Shows
Sunay Akın has been a host on many TV and radio programs. He co-hosts a TV show called "Yaşamdan Dakikalar" ("Minutes from Life") on the tv8 channel. He has also hosted other shows like "Mahya Işıkları," "Stüdyo İstanbul," and "İzler" on TRT 2, and "Gezgin Korkuluk" on tv8. On the radio, he hosted "Veşaire...Veşaire" on Yaşam Radyo.
Teaching and Writing
Besides his TV and radio work, Sunay Akın also teaches. He gives lectures at Marmara University and Müjdat Gezen Art School. He also teaches at his own İstanbul Toy Museum. He often performs his own "one-man shows" in Turkey and other countries, and he takes part in discussions and conferences. He writes a regular column for the newspaper Cumhuriyet. His column is named "Kule Cambazı" ("Tower Acrobat"), which is also the title of one of his books. This name is a fun reference to İstanbul's famous Maiden's Tower.
Awards and Recognition
Sunay Akın has received awards for his poetry:
- 1987: Halil Kocagöz Poem Awards for his collection of poems called "Noktalı Virgül" ("Semicolon").
- 1990: Orhon Murat Arıburnu Poem Awards for his poem "Makiler" ("Maquis").
His Works
Early Writings
Sunay Akın's first poems were published in different magazines in 1984. In 1989, he started his own poetry magazine called "Yeni Yaprak" ("New Page"). This name was a nod to a famous poetry magazine from 1949 called "Yaprak," created by Orhan Veli. "Yeni Yaprak" was published with other poets, Ramazan Üren and Akgün Akova, and had sixteen issues in total.
In 1990, Akın also helped publish another poetry magazine called "Olmaz" ("Won't Happen"). In 1991, he was part of a special poem called "Barış için dizeler" ("Lines for Peace"). For this poem, 81 Turkish poets each wrote a part without knowing what the others were writing. Many well-known Turkish writers, like Can Yücel and Lale Müldür, were part of this project.
Books Published
Sunay Akın has written many books, mostly collections of his poems and essays:
- "Antik Acılar" (1991, 1995, 1999) ("Antique Sufferings")
- "Şairler Matinesi" (1993) ("Poets' Matinée")
- "Şiir Cumhuriyeti" (1993) ("The Republic of Poetry") - a collection he worked on with others
- "Veşaire...Veşaire" (1994) ("And to poets...And to poets") - a clever play on words
- "Küçük Asker...Küçük Asker..." (1995) ("Little Soldier...Little Soldier...") - named after a popular children's song
- "Makiler" (1996, 1999) ("Maquis")
- "Kaza Süsü" (1997) ("Freak Accident")
- "Kırılan Canlar" (1997) ("Broken Souls")
- "İstanbul'un Nazım Planı" (Structural Plan of Istanbul) - a title with a fun double meaning
- "62 Tavşanı" (2000) ("Rabbit of 62") - refers to a simple way to draw a rabbit using the number 62. Sunay Akın was born in 1962.
- "Ayçöreği ve Denizyıldızı" (2000) ("Croissant and Starfish")
- "Kız Kulesi'ndeki Kızılderili" (2000)
- "Önce Çocuklar ve Kadınlar" (2000) ("Children and Women First")
- "İstanbul'da Bir Zürafa" (2001) ("A Giraffe in İstanbul")
- "Onlar Hep Oradaydı" (2002) ("They Were Always There")
- "Kırdığımız Oyuncaklar" (2004) ("The Toys We Broke")
- "Kule Cambazı" (2004) ("Tower Acrobat")
Magazine Contributions
His poems have appeared in many magazines and collections, including Milliyet Sanat, Yeni Düşün, Varlık, Broy, and Yarın. He also wrote articles for various magazines, such as the Cumhuriyet newspaper's "Gezi" supplement, where he covered topics like poetry and art history.
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