Arif Şirin, commonly known as Ozan Arif ("Arif the Bard"; June 10, 1949 – February 13, 2019), was a Turkish folk music artists, composer, teacher, and bağlama performer, foremost known for his songs with lyrics propagating the Turkish nationalist cause.
Ozan Arif | |
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Birth name | Arif Şirin |
Born | (1949-06-10)June 10, 1949 Alucra, Turkey |
Died | February 13, 2019(2019-02-13) (aged 69) Samsun, Turkey |
Genres | Turkish folk music |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instrument(s) | Singing, Bağlama |
Years active | 1970–2019 |
Şirin was born in his father's village Yükselen (Hapu) in Alucra district. By 1970, he had graduated from the Male Teacher's School in Ordu Province and worked as a primary school teacher in Samsun from 1970 to 1979.[1] Following the 1980 Turkish coup d'état, he moved to Germany where he lived until his return to Turkey in 1991.[citation needed]
He and fellow folk singer İsmail Türüt had been on trial for a song allegedly praising the assassination of Hrant Dink. Şirin and Türüt were acquitted in December 2009.[2]
Şirin died on February 13, 2019, of throat cancer in Samsun Ondokuz in the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Mayıs.[3]