https://www.ted.com/talks/ann_morgan_my_year_reading_a_book_from_every_country_in_the_world By Karen Van Drie, Editor of Turkish Literature Month for Global Literature in Libraries Like a lot of people who love to read, I was captivated by Ann Morgan's reading innovation of reading a book from every country in the world. What a cool idea! Short of visiting every nation in the world, how … Continue reading A Month of Turkish Literature via Global Literature in Libraries Initiative
Six Titles on the Kurdish Experience in Turkey
By Burhan Sönmez Board Member, PEN International Mountain Language by Harold Pinter was first performed at the Royal National Theatre in London in 1988. It was a play written three years after Pinter’s visit to Turkey for observing the consequences of a military coup in the country. When he, with Arthur Miller, on behalf of … Continue reading Six Titles on the Kurdish Experience in Turkey
‘Gavur Mahallesi’ by Migirdic Margosyan
by Matthew Chovanec While working on edits for the translation of 'Gavur Mahallesi' by Mıgırdiç Margosyan, I received feedback for each of the four different languages used in the book of short stories. Over lunch, an Armenian staff writer at a New York magazine told me that it would be better to translate ‘Agavni’ as … Continue reading ‘Gavur Mahallesi’ by Migirdic Margosyan
Best Seller for a New Age – ‘Madonna in a Fur Coat’ by Sabahattin Ali
“Kürk Mantolu Madonna” by Sabahattin Ali was first published in 48 parts in Hakikat newspaper in 1940, before being published in book form in 1943. In 1998 it was republished by Yapi Kredi Yayinlar and to date has sold over 1.6 million copies in 85 reprints. Sales are reported to be 10-15,000 copies per month, … Continue reading Best Seller for a New Age – ‘Madonna in a Fur Coat’ by Sabahattin Ali
Why we need to translate Seray Şahiner
The first time I read Seray Şahiner’s work was almost ten years ago when her initial collection of short stories Gelin Başı (Bridal Hair) came out. I was immediately struck by her powerful and unfeigned writing. Never two-dimensional, her characters popped out of the pages full flesh, blood, tears and laughs. Already then, I had … Continue reading Why we need to translate Seray Şahiner
‘Cooking New Istanbul Style’ by Refika Birgül
When you think of Turkish cuisine, the odds are that visions of kebabs and sticky desserts come to mind. However, over the last few years, a breath of fresh air has swept through the nation’s kitchens where the same traditional ingredients are now being used in exciting new ways. Refika Birgül has been an early … Continue reading ‘Cooking New Istanbul Style’ by Refika Birgül
‘A Strangeness in My Mind’ by Orhan Pamuk
Orhan Pamuk’s latest novel has rightly been called a love letter to his home city of Istanbul, but this may mislead unfamiliar readers; for the pages convey neither swooning adoration nor healthy affection, but rather Pamuk’s compulsive fascination with this place. Through the eyes of his sensitive protagonist, he takes us on a street-level tour … Continue reading ‘A Strangeness in My Mind’ by Orhan Pamuk
‘My Grandmother’ by Fethiye Çetin
By Dr. Rubina Peroomian I want to start this blog with the question posed to me after I delivered the keynote speech at the AIEA (Association internationale des études armeniénnes) Conference, last week, held in Oxford UK (my topic was “The Diasporan Armenian Literature Entering the Second Century of the Continuing Effects of the Genocide”). … Continue reading ‘My Grandmother’ by Fethiye Çetin
‘Never Regret The Pain: Loving and Losing a Bipolar Spouse’ by Sel Erder Yackley
Sel Erder Yackley is a native Türk -- an immigrant and now a citizen of America. I had the chance to hear her sharing memories of living with a bipolar spouse. Her black and white book cover looked awfully grim, the title even grimmer, and the subject did nothing to make me say, "gee, I … Continue reading ‘Never Regret The Pain: Loving and Losing a Bipolar Spouse’ by Sel Erder Yackley
A Documentary Novel: “The Entrusted Trousseau – Peoples of the Exchange” by Kemal Yalçin
One of the advantages of reading in my adopted language of Turkish is, of course, the range of books available in Turkey by Turkish authors. Books published in Turkey are much cheaper than foreign-language imported books, so this book seemed like a bargain when a bookseller recommended it to me. It changed the way I … Continue reading A Documentary Novel: “The Entrusted Trousseau – Peoples of the Exchange” by Kemal Yalçin
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 