Qedrîcan, usually dated 1911–1972, wrote poetry, stories and translations. His work belongs to modern Kurmanji literature and the Kurdish periodicals of exile.

Panorama of Dêrîk in Mardin, with clustered buildings, green groves and cultivated fields beneath dry terraced hills
Dêrîk (Dêrika Çiyayê Mazî), Mardin, photographed by Dûrzan Cîrano on 19 November 2020, CC BY-SA 4.0. This modern view provides context for Qedrîcan’s birthplace; it does not show the town as it appeared in his childhood. © Dûrzan Cîrano · 19 November 2020 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons.

Abdulkadir Can, the writer

Qedrîcan was the pen name of Ebdilqadir Ezîz Can. Erdoğan Alparslan’s study places his birth in Dêrîk, Mardin, in 1911, while recording an alternative year, 1916. It describes teacher training in Konya, teaching in Qamishli and Amuda, and settlement in Damascus. [1]

Exile and political commitments

Alparslan dates his crossing into Syria to 1928, connects him with socialist politics and the 1957 Moscow youth festival, and gives his death as 9 August 1972 in Damascus. [1]

The short stories and their endings

Alparslan identifies fourteen stories and analyses twelve, focusing on exile, memory and narrative endings. He reads Sond and Serencam as Ömer Seyfettin adaptations and discusses nested narratives. [1] Distinguishing adaptation from original fiction helps readers compare his work with its sources.

Why Hawar was more than a magazine title

The New York Kurdish Cultural Center’s archive introduction dates Hawar’s first issue to 15 May 1932 in Damascus, with Celadet Alî Bedirxan as owner and editor. It explains the project of teaching a Latin-based Kurdish alphabet alongside language, literary and folklore studies. The first twenty-three issues included both Latin and Arabic-Persian scripts; later issues used Latin-script Kurmanji. [2] Qedrîcan’s writing should be read within this world of print, language education and literary exchange. The archive offers five first-year issues from a private collection, rather than claiming to supply the entire run.

Reading a poem of longing for Dêrîk

Sara Distribution reproduces Dêrika Çayê Mazî under Qedrî Can’s name. The speaker addresses the place of birth from afar, remembering gardens, fields, cold springs and named landscapes, while repeatedly longing to see them again. A wished-for bird’s flight turns the desire for return into an image. [3] The poem gives the hometown emotional force through remembered places and the speaker’s desire to return.

A documented collection for further reading

The Kurdish Institute of Paris library catalogues Qedrîcan [Qedrî Can] (1911–1972), compiled by Dîlawer Zengî and published by Komal in Istanbul in 2004. It records 144 pages, identifies the language as Northern Kurdish/Kurmanji, and describes articles, poems, tales and collected works. [4]

Sources and further reading

  1. Erdoğan Alparslan, Nirxandinek li ser Çîrokên Qedrîcan, Kurdiname 4 (2021), pp. 176–195; biography and story analysis.
  2. New York Kurdish Cultural Center, Hawar Archive; periodical introduction, alphabet and scope of the five-issue collection.
  3. Sara Distribution, Qedrî Can; reproduced poem Dêrika Çayê Mazî. Text consulted directly; no complete-edition claim.
  4. Kurdish Institute of Paris library, record 13799: Qedrîcan [Qedrî Can] (1911–1972), compiled by Dîlawer Zengî, Komal, 2004.
  5. Dûrzan Cîrano, Dêrika Çiyayê Mazî, 19 November 2020; own photograph, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.