Turkish literature
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Smear campaign against Turkish author Asli Erdogan
"The things I didn’t say"
The Turkish author Asli Erdogan has been living in Germany for the past two years. In Turkey, she is still on trial. Now a wrongly-translated interview has triggered a smear campaign against her. Gerrit Wustmann spoke to her
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Book review: Stefan Weidner's ʺ1001 Books. The Literatures of the Orientʺ
The Middle East – a rich vein of world literature
Recently published in German, Stefan Weidner's new book issues an invitation to all those who would like to be better acquainted with the literature of the Middle East – a profoundly fascinating journey through the works of Arab, Persian and Turkish authors. By Gerrit Wustmann
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Interview with Turkish author Asli Erdogan
"There is nothing left of democracy in Turkey"
For Turkish author Asli Erdogan the annullation of the mayoral electoral result in Istanbul marked the end of democracy in Turkey. Gezal Acer spoke to her about her life in German exile and the situation of writers and freedom of speech in Turkey
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Berlinʹs Binooki publishing house
Cultural rapprochement hamstrung by Erdogan
Set up to foster understanding between Germany and Turkey by distributing Turkish literature in translation, Binooki, a niche publishing house founded in Berlin by daughters of Turkish guest workers, is fighting for survival – thanks to Erdogan. By Ulrich von Schwerin
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Book review: Omur Iklim Demirʹs "Buch der entbehrlichen Gedanken"
Artfully enigmatic
The Turkish writer Omur Iklim Demir walks a fine line between realism and surrealism. And the stories in his "Buch der entbehrlichen Gedanken" (The book of superfluous thoughts) succeed in creating such a whirl of time and space that the reader is continually confounded. By Joseph Croitoru
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Book review: Ahmet Altanʹs "Like a Sword Wound"
The rotten Empire
Ahmet Altanʹs "Like a Sword Wound", translated into English by Brendan Freely, reads like a grand adventure story: intrigue, suspense, romance and politics. Yet, each little incident, from the in-fighting in the palace to the conditions aboard Ottoman naval vessels, reveals a deep current of rot. Richard Marcus read the book
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German-Turkish author Emine Sevgi Ozdamar
A literary maverick
Emine Sevgi Ozdamar's writing is characterised by its unique figurative language – Arabic children's prayers, Turkish idioms and English film quotations all line up like telling beads, complementing each other and unfolding their own special rhythm. Aygul Cizmecioglu introduces the author
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Book review: "Istanbul Istanbul" by Burhan Sönmez
Laughing in the face of death
In his novel "Istanbul Istanbul", Burhan Sönmez describes the fate of four political prisoners, for whom telling stories in their shared cell becomes a passion. It enables them to retain a scrap of dignity in the face of torture and inhumanity. By Volker Kaminski
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Sabahattin Ali
"Madonna in a fur coat": Longing for love of a different kind
For years, people in Turkey have been passing around an unconventional love story set in 1920s Berlin. Ulrich von Schwerin asks what it says about Turkish society when a novel by a long-ostracised author, written over 70 years ago, now has cult status
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Interview with Turkish writer Aslı Erdoğan
"It's my country too"
Celebrated Turkish novelist Aslı Erdoğan was imprisoned for four months in Turkey last year. Despite the awful experience and the pressure being exerted on her, she refuses to be cowed. Writing, she says, is a responsibility. Interview conducted by Ceyda Nurtsch
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Book review: Elif Shafak′s ″Three Daughters of Eve″
Straddling worlds
In her latest novel, ″Three Daughters of Eve″, best-selling Turkish author Elif Shafak follows the life of a young woman from Istanbul who is torn between tradition and secularisation as she pursues a degree at Oxford University – and is plunged into deep personal and religious conflicts as a result. Volker Kaminski read the book
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Germany at the Istanbul Book Fair
Solidarity with readers
Germany was this year′s guest of honour at the Istanbul International Book Fair. This could not have happened at a better time – despite or perhaps because of the political dissonance. By Karen Kruger