Folk poet İhlâsî (Bekir Akbulut) his life, art and selected poetry

Each society has a set of shared cultural values developed throughout its history. These values embody the collective consciousness and cultural codes of the society. Customs, traditions, and conventions unique to the society, as well as literary works and cultural elements, are considered cultural treasures where traces of these shared values can be observed. Within Turkish literature, the Âşık (minstrel) tradition and the literature associated with it hold a significant place. This tradition serves an essential function in transmitting, preserving, transforming, and sustaining cultural values, emotions, thoughts, symbols, and literary heritage from the past to the present. Thanks to the oral and written continuation of the âşıklık tradition, the historical and cultural memory that upholds the society and defines its identity as a nation is passed down from generation to generation. Throughout centuries, aşıks (minstrels) and poets have produced works within the âşıklık tradition. The Turks have nurtured folk poets capable of expressing themselves socio-culturally, concerned with conveying the society's values, emotions, and thoughts to the future through both music and words. One of the 21st-century representatives of this tradition is the folk poet Bekir Akbulut, known by the pseudonym İhlâsî. This study aims to examine the âşıklık tradition in the context of past and present, trace its manifestations in contemporary times, identify its stages of development, and reveal the cultural values it has carried forward as well as the transformations and changes it has undergone. Keywords: Âşık, Âşıklık Tradition, Bekir Akbulut, İhlâsî, Thematic Values, Symbolic Elements.