Recep Küpçü

Recep Küpçü (; 28 September 1934 – 26 April 1976) was a Bulgarian poet and writer of Turkish ethnicity who wrote in both Bulgarian and Turkish. Born in 1934 in the town of Kuklen, he spent most of his life in Burgas, where he met various and influential Bulgarian writers. He met Turkish communist authors such as Aziz Nesin as well.

While he was alive, he published three collections of poems. In some of his poems, he strongly expresses his Turkish identity and thus managed to attract the attention of the Bulgarian Communist Party. He remained unemployed, but nevertheless he did not stop writing. He died in 1976 under suspicious circumstances. To this day, the cause of his death is unclear.

Early life Recep Küpçü was born on 28 September 1934, in the village of Kuklen (Turkish: Kukla), Plovdiv region, which had a multicultural population of Bulgarian Orthodox, Muslim, and Greek Orthodox residents. His parents were farmers. He completed his primary and secondary education Kuklen and then moved firstly to the Kardzhali Turkish Pedagogical School and later at the Razgrad Pedagogical School. During his military service, he worked in the editorial office of the newspaper Trudovo delo as a journalist-correspondent. He built a particularly deep relationship with Nedyalko Yordanov. There he became a member of the Society of Writers in Burgas, and received the Burgas poetry award.

Death

On 26 April 1976, he was called to Varna as an emergency. Shortly before leaving, he left a note for his wife saying that he will be back soon, but that did not happen. On the same day, Küpçü died, the cause of his death remaining unknown, as an autopsy was forbidden on his body. The authorities issued different versions of his death; at first it was said that he died of a stroke, and later that he was murdered by Turkish nationalists.

After his death, the harassment of his family continued. His 16-year-old son Erdinç was often called to the militia and beaten continuously, and at the age of 20 he was imprisoned in Stara Zagora. During one visit to his mother in prison, Küpçü's house was raided, and his manuscripts stolen. Vasil Angelov, head of the State Security department for artists, advised his poet friends not to deal with the already deceased Küpçü.

To this day, the cause of his death remains unclear.

Since he was born in Kuklen, located in the Rhodopes, the mountains are also present in his poetry. The sea is also an important symbol, as he spent a large part of his life in Burgas.

In addition to being an active writer, he also works as a journalist for the newspapers "Trduovo delo" and "Nova svelitsa." There are numerous literary criticisms and analyzes of his works, both in Bulgarian and Turkish. İzmir, İstanbul, and Burgas.