Tokatlı Nuri

 Tokatlı Nuri

The real name of the poet, whose actual name was Mahmut, is Nuri, which he used as his pen name in his poems. This pen name was given to him by his master, Erzurumlu Emrah. Mahmut was born in Samyeli Mahallesi, Kızılca neighborhood, which is an Alevi-Bektashi neighborhood in Tokat.

His father was known as Veli Hoca (Veli the Scholar). Veli Hoca earned his living by teaching and working in vineyards. Mahmut received his initial religious education from his father and showed an interest in saz (a musical instrument) and poetry. When he was thirteen or fourteen years old, he lost his father and started living a wandering life. He fell in love with a girl named Hâtun, and after much effort, he convinced her to marry him. From this marriage, they had children named Arif, Ahmet, Nefise, and Feride.

Although Nuri had his own divan (collection of poems) that he wrote or had written, it is now lost. His poems could only be gathered and collected approximately fifty years after his death by Ahmet Talat Onay and later by Zeki Oral, from various sources such as notebooks, anthologies, and pieces collected from the public.

Nuri also participated in poetic duels called "atışma-karşılaşma" during his travels. He especially gave examples of this during his time in Çankırı. However, the number of these examples is very limited. Nuri was also successful in "tarih düşürme" (recording history through poetry). An example of this is his verse "Nûrî ne güzel söylemiş üstâdına rahmet" (Nuri beautifully commemorated his master) which he composed upon the death of his master Emrah (1277). It is understood that Nuri was not unfamiliar with the tradition of composing "nazire" (response poems). He wrote response poems to the poems of famous ashiks of his time, especially to the poems of Erzurumlu Emrah. These response poems caused the poems of these two ashiks to intertwine. Today, thirty-nine poems are attributed to both Erzurumlu Emrah and Tokatlı Nuri in various sources. These poems include examples of "koşma" and epic poetry with rhyming endings such as "yanar ya," "garib garib," "geç efendim geç," "kader mi böyle," "güvenme," "ne çare," "teselli kaldı," "âbâd olaydı," "mâh-ı tecelli," "dildâre beni," "peymânesini," "kâr beni," "baş eğri," "usandım," "sığındım," "müşk ü bârından," "kitâbetim var," "bensiz yâr," "vay ciğerim yâr," "neyler," "sadıklardadır," "olmuş olmamış," "şimden gerü," "menzil alınmaz" in syllabic meter (hece); and "hayrandır bana," "canımı yakma," " yâ Rabb," " yâre ah," "az kaldı," "verdim gönlümü," "mahalim yok," "canım efendim," "etvârına yandım," "sıfat-ı aşkın," "bîgâne durursun," "zevki var," "oynar güler," "söyleriz" in aruz meter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgPXoeMPcbs&t=13s  saz:Nuri Işılak söz:Tokatlı Nuri  (Muzaffer Sarısözen bulmuş???)