Dilek Mayat\u00fcrk 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-Universit\u00e4t). As a documentary filmmaker and producer, she worked among others for the Turkish channel \u0130Z TV and the BBC. She writes poetry in German and Turkish. In 2014, her first poetry collection \u00abCesaret Koleksiyonu\u00bb (tr: Mutsammlung) was published in Turkey, followed in 2020 by the bilingual volume \u00abBrache\u00bb, containing poems from sixteen years of work. Mayat\u00fcrk finds powerful images for existential emotions such as anger, pain, love and loss. \u00abWith her forceful and at times stark images, Dilek Mayat\u00fcrk poetically critiques an outdated, patriarchal stance toward the world. \u2039Brache\u203a is both a powerful indictment and the poetic self-empowerment of an alert and sensitive poet \u2026 An unflinching, female voice\u00bb, according to DLF Kultur. In 2021, \u00abBir Daha Yok \u00c7i\u00e7e\u011fi\u00bb was published in Turkish, and in 2025 the poetry collection \u00abNeden Olmas\u0131n\u00bb (tr. Everest). In August 2026, the bilingual volume \u00abWenn du l\u00e4chelst, zerf\u00e4llt ein roter Apfel in Scheiben\u00bb (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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mayat\u00fcrk has received numerous awards in Turkey, including an honourable mention for the Cahit S\u0131tk\u0131 Taranc\u0131 Prize in 2010, the G\u00fcrhan U\u00e7kan Poetry Award in 2015, and third prize in the Kemal \u00d6zer Poetry Award in 2021. In Germany, she received literary grants from the Berlin Senate for Culture (2022), the Stiftung Preu\u00dfische 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 \u00abDeep Siesta\u00bb, 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last Update: 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":101068,"template":"","jct-role":[1080],"jct-origin":[495,551],"jct-ilb-years":[906,1025],"class_list":["post-81452","authors","type-authors","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","jct-role-author","jct-origin-germany","jct-origin-turkey","jct-ilb-years-2024-en","jct-ilb-years-2026-en"],"yoast_head":"\n