Black Earth was inspired by Kara Toprak, a popular song in Turkey. The composer of the song, As?k Veysel (1891-1973), was one of the last great Turkish balladeers and the final link in a thousand-year tradition.Veysel went blind during childhood following an attack of smallpox. He subsequently began to learn to play the Saz, a Turkish lute, and to study poetry, initially for his own amusement. He made acquaintance with a variety of folk poets, and, after 1928, also travelled from village to vill...