Download or read book The Poetry of Yunus Emre, A Turkish Sufi Poet written by Yunus Emre and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 1993-07-22 with total page 159 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The popularity of Yunus Emre, who is often referred to as the Turkish national poet, has endured for six centuries. Yunus is the most important representative of early Turkish mysticism; he can be considered the founder of Alevi-Bektasi literature, and his influence on later tekke poetry was enormous. His ilahis (hymns) have played an important role in sufi ceremonies. Grace Martin Smith's translation of Yunus's poetry will acquaint the non-Turkish reader with the art and thinking of one of Turkey's most significant poets and will be helpful to students of both modern and Ottoman Turkish and to all those interested in Islamic poetry and piety.