Temirkhan Medetbek (1945 – 2025) a distinguished Kazakh poet renowned for his innovative approach to eco-poetry, was born in the Turkestan region. He held editorial positions in various journals, including Aķiķat and Žu̇ldyz, and was a prolific writer since his first poetry collection in 1970. His poetry often addresses modern concerns, including ecological issues, through the lens of historical and cultural motifs, bridging the past with the present. Medetbek's notable collection, ‘Kôk Tùrikter saryny’, describes contemporary issues in the form of ancient Turkic psalms of the seventh and eighth centuries. Medetbek was awarded the Prize of the Writers’ Union of Kazakhstan and the State Prize of Kazakhstan and was a recipient of the order Qu̇rmеt (2005). Order of Parasat — for outstanding services in Kazakh literature and culture (2018); Title of ‘Kazakhstannyn halyk zhazushysy’ (People’s Writer of the Republic of Kazakhstan, 2024). He translated poems by such poets as Pushkin, Lermontov, Yakub Kolas, Yanka Kupala, V. Guzhva, Lesya Ukrainka, Radovan Zagovic, Baudelaire, Verhaeren, Pablo Neruda, Nezval, Erkin Vakhidov into Kazakh. His own poems have been translated into Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Ukrainian, Russian, Chinese, and Tatar languages. The poems selected for translation into English here have been chosen from the collection ‘Kok turikter saryny’ (2001). (‘The legends of Kok Turks’)