By Yaruk
Bartın municipality in Turkiye hosted an international artistic event, the 25th International Book Fair, for seven days between 23-30 November.
Famous writers living in and outside Turkiye participated in the event as guests and speakers. Uyghur poet Mutallip SAYDULLAH, living in Norway, attended the occasion as a special guest and gave a speech titled “Literature and national Russian”.
We interviewed Mutallip SAYDULLAH about the event and the poet’s speech. He agreed to a phone interview and shared the following:
“The event is a cultural art event held at an international level. All the guests have achieved remarkable success in the field of literature. They talked about their literary work. I received an invitation to attend from Norway. In the short time given to me, “Literature and National Spirit “. In my speech, I carefully emphasized the importance of Uyghur literature in preserving the awareness of Uyghur national identity and cultural belonging. I talked about the grave situation of writers such as Abdulkadır JALALIDIN, Yalqun RUZİ, Abduleged ABDURREŞID BERQI, and Perhat TURSUN. “I received sincere interest and response from many people. I signed the books I brought with me during the event to my readers. Upon request, I gave some of my books as gifts to the Bartın Library, University Library, and cultural centers.”
According to Bartinhergungazetesi, a local news media, Bartın Municipality hosts the international book fair every year.
This year marked the 25th anniversary of the event, as it was first held in 1997. The event aims to bring the people of Bartın together in artistic activities.
According to the newspaper, 17 publishing houses, 14 conversation guests, and book lovers attended this year’s Book Fair. All four writers met with the people of Bartın at the signing event. The fair, which hosted international guests with talks and signing days, was open at the Municipality Social Facilities between 10:00 and 20:00.