The Voice of Water

Çapan's poetry manages to sound ancient and traditional while being firmly rooted in today's world; it is both thoroughly Turkish and at the same time European - and beyond that, part of a greater world literature. Many of his poems are personal, and in this book he looks back at times past, remembering friends and family and places that have touched his life for ever. The natural world is ever-present, especially the sea which moves restlessly, powerfully, relentlessly throughout, and the lucidity and simple beauty of these poems in Ruth Christie's exquisite translation remain with you long after you have put this book down.