Şeref Taşlıova
(1938-2014)

Şeref Taşlıova was born in Gülyüzü village in the district of Cıldır in Ardahan in 1938. He began writing poems at the age of 10. He studied to be a teacher after finishing primary school. In those years, he learned how to play bağlama from Aşık Kasım, who was the son of Aşık Şenlık. Taşlıova prepared a radio program concerning folk literature (aşık) in a Kars Radio between 1966 and 1976. He also participated in many radio and television programs in Turkey and abroad. He also served as an consultant in many radio programs. Taşlıova participated in the Konya Aşıklar Festival since its beginning. He received more than 130 awards including 15 gold medals, over 60 plaques, and 180 citations in different competitions and festivals. He wrote many articles about folk music in various magazines. Taşlıova performed not only in Turkey but also foreign countries such as the US, Japan, Europe, and Central Asia. He represented Turkey in the event “World Art Series,” which was organized by UNESCO. He was selected as an artist of the year in 1991 by Müzik San Foundation, and 1996 by Writers Union of Turkey. In 2000 he was awarded a "Service Prize to the Turkic World" by TÜRKSAV.

Taşlıova wrote over 1000 poems. Some poems were published under the name of “Gönül Bahçesi” by HAGEM in 1990. In addition to it, “Aşık Şeref Taşlıova’nın Tasnif Ettiği Hikâyeler” was published by Fikret Türkmen and Nail Tan. In 2010, Taşlıova was awarded as one of the seven Turkish Living Treasures by UNESCO and the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism. He was a member of MESAM (Türkiye Musiki Eseri Sahipleri Meslek Birliği) and director of the Technique Science Association. Taşlıova passed away in Ankara in 2014.

Reference: tr.wikipedia.org, turkuler.com, images.google.com.tr