Ahmet Selçuk İlkan

Ahmet Selçuk İlkan — Biography

Ahmet Selçuk İlkan (born 26 October 1955, in Adana) is a Turkish poet and songwriter. He drew attention with poems published in literary magazines while still in high school, and in 1973 he went to Berlin Technical University to study architecture. In 1975 he won first prize in a love-themed poetry contest run by the magazine Hayat with his poem Hatırlar mısın? (Do You Remember?). Abandoning his architecture studies in 1976, he returned to Turkey and graduated from Istanbul University's Department of German Language and Literature in 1980.

İlkan began writing lyrics professionally in 1978 and has since authored more than a thousand songs, set by leading composers and performed by well-known singers. He calls himself "the poet of separations," "the bard of loneliness," or simply ASİ, from his initials. Alongside poetry collections such as Ayrılıkların Şairi and Erkekler Hep Yalnız Ağlar, he has released more than ten spoken-word poetry albums, beginning with Mum Işığında in 1982. A recipient of multiple Altın Kalem and song-of-the-year awards, he has also appeared in five films and hosted television programmes. In 2026 he celebrated his 50th year in the arts with a concert in Adana, where he received an honorary award.