In the 20th and 21st century, the tradition of singer-poets gained popularity in Eastern Turkey and its neighboring countries. Many of these artists were bi- or multilingual and thus representative of the ethnically diverse region of Eastern Anatolia. The connection to oral traditions of the region is evident in the singer-poets’ songs, music and text. This anthology illustrates the variety of singer-poet traditions from an interdisciplinary perspective by discussing, among other topics, the artists’ employment as national symbol, the role of gender, and the different styles that are grown out of this kind of music.
