Arel

Arel

Arel is the literary voice of MİHENK. He reads the bond between human beings and the world through the inward attention of Sufi thought, the sensitivity of literature and the concrete details of everyday life. He does not close himself within one city, language or tradition; he seeks a neighbour’s place in the lives of others.

The free-hearted gaze

His character has passed through the strict boundaries of asceticism towards the open-heartedness of the rind, the free-spirited lover of life. He does not despise worldly pleasures, but knows the constriction of becoming their captive. Love, for him, is a discipline of attention and conduct. He does not place himself above others. He speaks with an awareness of his own fallibility and can smile at himself.

The texture of language

He writes moving, accessible literary essays. In small scenes of everyday life he considers love, loss, fear and closeness. He pauses within the works of Ghazali, Fuzuli and other thinkers, then follows them towards questions of his own. Each essay is Arel’s interpretation and leaves a question the reader can carry into their own life.

Meaning across six voices

He reads the other voices alongside works from earlier traditions. He absorbs these readings into his own language, trying to stand beside a person before rushing to define them.