Poets of Erzurum, as Turkish original name is "Erzurum Şairleri" is a biographical and literary study by Hasan Ali Kasır, published as part of Dergâh Yayınları's "Erzurum Library" series. The book focuses on poets who were born, lived, or settled in the city of Erzurum. It aims to reveal how the city's rich cultural heritage, accumulated over a long historical period, has been expressed through poetry. The book, which was first published in August 1999, is 585 pages long and reached its second edition in May 2018.

Content and Thematic Structure

The work begins with an introduction that defines Erzurum's historical and cultural aspects, providing a framework for tracing the city's deep-rooted past and cultural identity through its poetry. The book examines the biographies and literary orientations of poets who were born in, lived in, or later moved to Erzurum. Hasan Ali Kasır provides detailed information on the poets' backgrounds, literary personalities, and works. Each poet's life story, education, literary circle, poetic approach, and prominent aspects of their work are discussed comprehensively. The author also analyzes the poets' stances on historical and social developments, the literary movements that influenced them, and their language and style choices.

The book includes not only well-known poets but also those who remained at a local level but whose work holds literary value. In this way, it contributes to the documentation of the regional literary heritage on a broad scale. The work indirectly addresses how Erzurum's geographical and cultural features are reflected in the poets' works, drawing attention to the reflections of folk culture, belief systems, ways of life, and local identity elements in their poetry. According to the publisher's evaluation, this study has the potential to fill a significant gap in the literature, not only for Erzurum but also for Turkish literary studies in general. Therefore, the work serves as a valuable resource for research on both local and general literary history.

Language and Style

Hasan Ali Kasır's Poets of Erzurum is written with academic consistency and objectivity. The author presents biographical and literary analyses in a systematic and explanatory manner. The text avoids personal judgments in its evaluations and commentaries, relying on scientifically-based data. The language and style are accessible to researchers while meeting academic standards in terms of information density.

Author's Position and the Book's Significance

Hasan Ali Kasır is a researcher known for his work on Erzurum's cultural and literary history. This book is a significant contribution to biographical compilations within local literary historiography.

Poets of Erzurum is a comprehensive source that documents Erzurum's literary heritage, examining the lives and works of many poets within a scientific framework. The book provides data for researchers, academics, and graduate students working in fields such as urban literature, literary history, biography, local culture, and folklore. It can also be considered a methodological example of how a city's literary and cultural memory is constructed.