Human Landscapes
by Nazim Hikmet
abridged and adapted by Altan Koraltan
Performed by David Suchet.
Directed by Gordon House
Broadcast on the BBC World Service, 1993 or later
160/44; 64.3 MB; sound quality good
In the 1940s, Turkish poet Nazim Hikmet commenced work on an epic poem about the people of his country, in a style that could easily be understood by anyone with basic literacy skills. Hikmet began writing it in 1941 while a political prisoner in his native Turkey, and only finished it in 1950 when he was released as part of a general amnesty. Parts of it were published in translation in 1960 and '65 in France and Italy, and in the former Soviet Union in 1962, but it wasn't until after his death in 1963 that it was published in his homeland. A complete translation into English of 'Human Landscapes From My Country', was published for the first time in 2008.
As an intellectual leftist Hikmet had very little contact with people outside his class and education background until he was sentenced to jail in 1938 and found himself immersed in their world. Meeting these people and being forced to see the world from their point of view was what inspired him to begin working on Human Landscapes From My Country. Not only did he want to describe who these people were and what their lives were like, he wanted to do so in such a manner that they would be able to read it. So Landscapes is a sketchbook filled with descriptions of people and places that Hikmet encountered during his roughly 13 years in prison.
adapted from http://blogcritics.org/books/article/book-review-human-landscapes-from-my/
Replies
Can't the Beeb leave great works alone?
Harrumph!
There's still such a thing as a strong letter to The Times, you know.