The 10th İzmir International Literature Festival hosted talks, documentary screenings, theater performances, and a variety of artistic events over four days under the theme “Literature Heals”. The festival brought numerous artists, writers, poets, and academics from Türkiye and around the world together in İzmir.
Organized by İzmir Metropolitan Municipality from September 24 to 27 under the theme “Literature Heals”, the 10th İzmir International Literature Festival brought literature together with various artistic disciplines over four days. Directed by poet Haydar Ergülen, the festival welcomed Alberto Manguel and Zülfü Livaneli as its Guests of Honor. The festival opened at Ahmed Adnan Saygun Arts Center (AASSM) on September 24 and continued with events at İzmir Art Culture Center, Bergama Culture Center, and various venues across the city. Awards were also presented to the winners of the poetry, short story, and essay competition organized for high school students during the opening program. Throughout the festival, the theme “Literature Heals” was explored through different stories, ideas, and experiences in talks, documentaries, theater performances, and various gatherings.

Talks, documentaries, and theater
The talks “Does Literature Heal?” with Alberto Manguel and Zülfü Livaneli; “Ancient Libraries” by Manguel; “İyiliğin Felsefesi” (The Philosophy of Goodness) by Prof. Dr. Ahmet İnam; “Roman İyileştirir mi?” (Can the Novel Heal?) with Tarık Tufan and Fabienne Leloup; “Şiirle İyileşmek” (Healing Through Poetry) by İlhan Sami Çomak; “Anadolu Aydınlanması ve İyilik” (The Anatolian Enlightenment and Goodness) by Ayşe Acar; and “İyileşmek Üstüne” (On Healing) by Ayşe Bilge Selçuk attracted considerable interest. The relationship between literature and cinema was discussed during “Poetry and Cinema” with Ferid Hüseyin and Dalmira Tilepbergenova. One of the festival’s highlights was the screening of Livaneli: Bir İnsanın ve Bir Ülkenin Hikayesi (Livaneli: The Story of a Man and a Country), directed by Nebil Özgentürk. The documentary chronicles Zülfü Livaneli’s life and artistic journey. Screened in the auditorium of İzmir Art Culture Center, it also reached a wider audience through an outdoor screen. Tolga Oskar’s documentary Nilgün, about poet Nilgün Marmara, and Murat Çidamlı’s play Piraye were also among the festival events that attracted great interest.

Artists from Türkiye and around the world met in İzmir
The festival brought together numerous artists, poets, writers, directors, and academics from Türkiye and other countries. Participants from Türkiye included Prof. Dr. Ahmet İnam, Monica Papi, Erkut Tokman, Tarık Tufan, Ayşe Acar, İlhan Sami Çomak, Nebil Özgentürk, Prof. Dr. A. Nilgün Canel, Hüseyin Peker, Namık Kuyumcu, Ayşe Bilge Selçuk, Çağla Ayhan, Eşref Yener, Altay Ömer Erdoğan, Murat Çidamlı, Mete Özel, Efruze Esra, Zeynep Çolakoğlu, Tolga Oskar, and many others. International guests included Dalmira Tilepbergenova from Kyrgyzstan; Petr Hruška, Yvetta Ellerová, and Jana Orlová from Czechia; Petra Nachtmanova from Austria; Ferid Hüseyin from Azerbaijan; Louis Armand from Australia; and Fabienne Leloup and Sylvain Cavaillès from France.

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