Ottoman Poets and Poetics in the Sixteenth Century - (Gibb Memorial Trust) by Kristof D'Hulster (Hardcover)

About the Book

Offers an insider's view of the literary world of the Ottoman sultanate at its heyday, from the 1540s to the 1570s.

Book Synopsis

This book offers the first-ever partial English translation and commentary of what are arguably the two most important Ottoman biographical dictionaries of poets: the tezkires of Aşık Çelebi and Latifi. While tezkires are mostly culled for their factual data, this book focuses on the non-entry materials, especially the prefaces. These offer intimate glimpses into the authors' lives, charting their professional ambitions, frustrations and feuds, set against the backdrop of the sixteenth-century Ottoman literary world - a world in which patrimonial relations made and broke careers, poetry was appraised, attacked, monetised and stolen, and the ambitions of aspiring poets were fuelled and foiled.

The two tezkires reflect this milieu, and their authors were personally acquainted, exchanging thoughts over their work and, finally, falling out over an accusation of plagiarism. The translations are supplemented with a reflection on the nature and translatability of Ottoman high prose, a discussion of the tezkire genre and a detailed presentation of the two authors and their dictionaries. Through a novel study of these interconnected works, this book provides a panorama of Ottoman literary history, as well as insights into the authors' personal struggles.

Review Quotes

Kristof D'hulster's study offers a careful translation of the introductory sections of two biographical dictionaries authored by the renowned sixteenth-century encyclopedists Aşık Çelebi and Latifi. Rich in insights into poetics and literary culture, these prefaces are paired with a curated selection of poet biographies from the same magna opera. More than a lucid and engaging English rendering, the work invites readers into the richness of Ottoman language and literature. In its pedagogically structured introduction, D'hulster demonstrates how highly ornate Ottoman prose can be translated with both sensitivity and precision. This book is poised to become essential reading--not only for courses introducing learners to Ottoman Turkish, but also for those seeking to demystify the often opaque perceptions of Ottoman court language and literature.--Hakan Karateke, University of Chicago

In a manner that is both disarming in its playfulness and intimidating in its erudition, this book offers English readers their first chance to savor the high literary style of two foundational authors in sixteenth-century Ottoman Turkish--one of history's most deliciously difficult languages.--Giancarlo Casale, European University Institute