About / the reasonable version of the long story
A place on the internet worthy of art.
Art‑ı Sanat is an independent digital arts and literature platform built to preserve Turkish poetry, independent publishing, and digital cultural production; to make them accessible; and to bring them together with new work.
We are here so no advert barges into a poem, no fanzine quietly vanishes, and art finds a place online that suits it. We do not hide grand statements in the small print.
Write to us01 / Why, though?
Because an advert has no business
in the middle of a poem.
Searching for poetry online kept leading us to inaccurate texts, mangled Turkish characters, broken formatting, and adverts pitching their tents between the lines. Old fanzines and journals were quietly disappearing, while independent makers struggled to find a place of their own.
There simply was no place for reading Turkish poetry that made you sigh, “finally.” So we built the place we wanted: some poetry, some code, and a modest amount of grumbling.
- × Inaccurate and incomplete poem texts
- × Broken Turkish characters and formatting
- × Advertising camps pitched between verses
- × Fanzines and old journals slipping away
- × Independent makers left without a space
02 / Art-ı Sanat today
Let the figures speak.
We will add the asides.
These figures come from the database and refresh every day. In other words, this section tidies itself up before it becomes a period piece.
- 23,534
- Turkish poems
- 1,691
- poets
- 32,700
- words in the etymology archive
- 258
- digitized fanzine issues
- 1,381,351
- poem reads recorded so far (yes, the counter works)
Community posts, comments, likes, and follows
OCR and AI-assisted archival work
03 / Rooms in the house
One platform,
several curiosities.
All under one roof. The roof does not leak; it does occasionally ship a new release.
İmece Library
A living archive that seats poems, poets, words, and etymology at the same table. No tea stains on the table; plenty of links, though.
Enter the library → 02Fanzine Shelves
A place where independent publications meet new readers on digital shelves instead of quietly disappearing. These shelves gather no dust.
Browse the shelves → 03Art-ı Social / The Neighborhood
A community space where people share art, comment, like, and follow one another. We are aiming for neighborly conversation, not algorithmic shouting.
Visit the neighborhood → 04Art-ı Artificial Mind
An experimental analysis system working with Turkish poetry and literature. It does not hand down final verdicts; it tries opening another window onto the text.
Explore the analyses → 05Digital Shores
A coastline for digital exhibitions, visual narratives, and the corners of the internet that are still rather lovely. Swimwear is optional.
Head to the shore → 06Blog
Writing on literature, art, culture, and ideas. Sometimes long, sometimes brief; never interrupted by a “skip ad to continue” button.
Read the articles → 07Photos We Nicked from the Internet
A visual selection gathered from the internet’s nooks and crannies. “Nicked” means looked at with curiosity here; the copyright desk still has a sturdy chair.
See the selection →Tree of Mind
A knowledge map tracing connections among literature, philosophy, and psychology. It is putting down roots; best not tug at the branches just yet.
Coming soon, once it has branched out04 / Our principles
Not for framing on a wall.
For putting into practice.
- 01
Ad-free, distraction-free reading
When you read a poem, the poem should be what appears before you. Hardly radical, though the internet occasionally disagrees.
- 02
Preserving cultural memory
Not abandoning fanzines, texts, and traces in the folder marked “we’ll find it later.”
- 03
Making room for independent creators
Building a neighborhood where work can be shared and discovered without first flattering an algorithm.
- 04
Keeping knowledge accessible
Leaving the archive door open, its shelves legible, and its links as sturdy as we can make them.
- 05
Being open about sources and corrections
We do not hide when you spot an error. Sources, corrections, and feedback are part of the work.
- 06
Putting technology at art’s service
We are after tools that genuinely serve the text and the reader, not flashy technological party tricks.
- 07
Carrying Turkish poetry into other languages
Our long-term aim is to build bridges between this body of work and other languages and literary traditions.
Suggestions, complaints, and grumbling are all taken seriously.
05 / Who is behind it?
Founder-led,
collectively grown.
Art‑ı Sanat is an independent, founder-led initiative established and developed by software developer Osman Taha, and shaped by the contributions of its collaborators and community.
Founder
Osman Taha Kıyıcılar
He works across software development, systems architecture, and DevOps, and believes poetry and code can share a server without starting a fight.
osman@art-isanat.com.tr →06 / In the press and supporting programs
Not a logo wall.
Just a small thank-you corner.
A final word / for now
Have an idea, a correction,
or a fine piece of grumbling?
We have room for all three. Except spam; we took away its chair.
Write to us