A New Perspective on the Origin of Modern Kurdish Poetry: Ludvig Olsen Fossum as a Pioneer

Most of the literature available on Kurdish poetry emphasize that modern Kurdish poetry was developed in the 1910s, and more precisely since 1918, in Sulaymaniyah by poets including Sheikh Nuri Sheikh Salih and Goran. However, signs of the development of Kurdish poetry can be also observed earlier, especially in the works of such poets as Haji Qadir. The present study, adopting a descriptive-analytical method, seeks to modify these indicators based on the newly-found documents and evidence. A relatively less known poet has composed Kurdish poetry in a new style at an earlier time and a different place. An American-Norwegian priest, named Ludvig Olsen Fossum, published his work in Mahabad in 1912, including a few Kurdish poems in a new style following the syllabic metrical system.