A Birch in Alaska (Book)

An Alaskan Birch, by Ayşe Nur Biçer, is her first poetry collection. Born in 1991, the poet is a graduate of Istanbul University and her poems have been published in journals such as Dergâh, Varlık, and Buzdokuz. Published in October 2022 by Dergâh Yayınları as part of its Turkish Literature series, this work consists of 56 pages of imagistic poetry.

The book foregrounds the individual’s states of wounding, the relationship between nature and humanity, and the sense of transience.

• Wounding and Trace: Expressions such as “damage assessment” draw attention to the psychological wound within the individual.
• The Flow of Time: The act of listing possibilities one after another evokes reflection on the past, establishing the poem’s tone of anxiety.
• Nature Metaphors: Human existence is interwoven with metaphors drawn from nature—the birch tree, rings, age.
• Questioning Life and Death: While the possibility of death is questioned, questions about life itself are also raised.

Biçer’s poetry is brief, intense, and possesses an internal rhythm. Lines bridge the perception of place—implied as Alaska but never directly defined—and the individual’s inner world. A dense atmosphere is created through repetition and silence within short lines. An existential resonance is achieved through clear language and minimalist imagery.