Dilek Mayatürk is a Turkish-German poet, documentary filmmaker and producer, and author. She studied sociology in Istanbul and continued her studies at the University of Klagenfurt (Alpen-Adria-Universität). As a documentary filmmaker and producer, she worked among others for the Turkish channel İZ TV and the BBC. She writes poetry in German and Turkish. In 2014, her first poetry collection «Cesaret Koleksiyonu» (tr: Mutsammlung) was published in Turkey, followed in 2020 by the bilingual volume «Brache», containing poems from sixteen years of work. Mayatürk finds powerful images for existential emotions such as anger, pain, love and loss. «With her forceful and at times stark images, Dilek Mayatürk poetically critiques an outdated, patriarchal stance toward the world. ‹Brache› is both a powerful indictment and the poetic self-empowerment of an alert and sensitive poet … An unflinching, female voice», according to DLF Kultur. In 2021, «Bir Daha Yok Çiçeği» was published in Turkish, and in 2025 the poetry collection «Neden Olmasın» (tr. Everest). In August 2026, the bilingual volume «Wenn du lächelst, zerfällt ein roter Apfel in Scheiben» (tr. When You Smile, a Red Apple Breaks Into Slices) will follow. In 2022, she was also one of the co-founders of PEN Berlin.
Mayatürk has received numerous awards in Turkey, including an honourable mention for the Cahit Sıtkı Tarancı Prize in 2010, the Gürhan Uçkan Poetry Award in 2015, and third prize in the Kemal Özer Poetry Award in 2021. In Germany, she received literary grants from the Berlin Senate for Culture (2022), the Stiftung Preußische Seehandlung (2023), the Tarabya Cultural Academy (2023/2024), Schloss Wiepersdorf (2024), as well as Casa Baldi and Villa Massimo (2024). Together with composer Amen Feizabadi, she performs in duo performances; she wrote the libretto for his chamber opera «Deep Siesta», which premiered in January 2026 at Ultraschall Berlin. In July 2026, she gave a reading at Villa Massimo for the German Academy Rome. She lives in Berlin.
Last Update: 2026
