Halman's book on Turkish literature published in US
Monday, January 14, 2008

ANKARA - Turkish Daily News


Professor Talat Halman, chairman of Bilkent University's Turkish
Literature department, has released a collection of his essays on
Turkish literature in the United States, his office announced in a
written statement.

   The 400-page book titled “Rapture and Revolution” provides a
critical overview of Turkish literature from its earliest phases to the
present. The articles give readers a broad entry into the rich landscape
of traditional and contemporary Turkish literature and culture.The book
contains three sections: Myths and Monoliths; Critics, Dramatics,
Poetics; and Mystics and Modern Masters.

The first section showcases such articles as “The Ancient and
Ottoman Legacy,” “Islamic Themes in Turkish Poetry: Imitations and
Mutations,” “Rapture and Revolution: Poetry of the Islamic Near
East,” “Turkish Literature in the 1960s,” and “Turkish
Literature: Modes of Modernity,” while the second section features the
articles of “The Evolution of Turkish Drama,” “Comic Spirit in
Turkish Theater,” “Poetry and Society: Propaganda Functions of
Poetry in the Turkish Experience,” “Big Town Blues: Peasants
‘Abroad' in Turkish Literature.”

Section three deals with important literary figures individually such
as Celaleddin Rumi, Yunus Emre, Süleyman the Magnificent, Nazım Hikmet,
Orhan Veli Kanık, Oktay Rıfat, Sait Faik etc.

The book was edited by Jayne L. Warner and published by Syracuse
University Press in the United States. It is available in the United
States from the Syracuse University Press and outside the United States
from Eurospan, 3 Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, London WC2E 8LU, U.K.
or from the Web sites www.eurospanonline.com and
www.SyracuseUniversityPress.syr.edu.