Today, the Kurdish poet and writer Cegerxwîn is being commemorated across Kurdistan on the 40th anniversary of his death. Cegerxwîn, known as the “poet of freedom,” passed away on October 22, 1984, in Stockholm at the age of 81.
During his life, Cegerxwîn’s “rebellious” poetry faced fear and rejection from rulers in the regions where Kurds reside. Most of his works were published in Europe, particularly during his final years in Sweden. There, he released six volumes of poetry, along with books on Kurdish history and folklore. In the early 2000s, the Cegerxwîn Foundation was established in Sweden. His son, Keyo Hassan, who passed away in 2020, led various projects as the foundation’s director. This effort also resulted in the publication of Kurdish and even Turkish works in Turkey.
It wasn’t until the early 1990s that Cegerxwîn’s books became available in Turkey. Initially, they could only be published in Istanbul, as they remained banned in Northern Kurdistan.
Cegerxwîn gained significant recognition in the 1960s and 1970s within the former Soviet Union, especially in regions with Kurdish populations, including Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia. Dr. Shamil Esgerov, a prominent Kurdish writer from Azerbaijan, wrote his dissertation in 1969 on “The Poetry of the Contemporary Poet Cegerxwîn.” Additionally, the Kurdish literary figure Ordixanê Celil published “The Patriotic Poetry of Cegerxwîn” in Armenia in 1966.
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