ANADOLU AGENCY

"Hailed by many as the writer of hope, Turkish poet Nazım Hikmet, with his profound optimism, could be just what the world needs now in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

"We will see beautiful days kids / sunny days / We will sail our boats to the blue seas kids / to the bright blue seas,” wrote Hikmet in the 1930s – with the Great Depression hanging over much of the globe – in a poem titled "Optimism."

"Wednesday marks the 57th anniversary of the passing of the legendary Turkish poet.

"At a glance, his biography may make his optimism even more significant: His books banned, he spent most of his life behind bars or in exile but continued to write.

"UNESCO declared 2002 the Year of Nazım Hikmet to mark the 100th anniversary of his birthday.

"After dying of a heart attack in 1963 in Moscow, Hikmet remains buried there, although there have been attempts to repatriate his remains to Turkey.