Lora Sarı on the life, photography and writing of Ara Güler
December 11, 2018
Turkey Book Talk episode #79 – Lora Sarı talks about the life and work of the late great Ara Güler.
Lora is an editor at Aras, an Armenian-focused publishing house that recently published “We Will Live After Babylon”, a collection of Güler’s largely fictional writings, penned mostly in the 1940s and 50s before he started taking photographs.
Download the episode or listen below.
Also check out a previous episode with Lora Sarı talking about Mıgırdıç Margosyan’s “Infidel Quarter” and the broader work of Aras.
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Join as a member to support Turkey Book Talk and get (English and Turkish) transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the entire archive, access to a 30% discount on over 200 Turkey/Ottoman history titles published by IB Tauris, and an archive of 231 reviews written by myself covering Turkish and international fiction, history, journalism and politics.
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Turkey Book Talk episode #69 – Amy Spangler on the life and work of Sevgi Soysal, whose classic 1973 novel “Noontime in Yenişehir” she translated into English. She also discusses co-founding the literary agency AnatoliaLit and her work on “Seher,” a collection of stories penned in jail by former HDP co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş.
Download the episode or listen below.
Here’s my review of the (great) novel from a few weeks ago.
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Support Turkey Book Talk by becoming a member. Membership gives you full transcripts in English and Turkish of every interview upon publication, transcripts of the entire Turkey Book Talk archive (over 60 conversations so far), and access to an exclusive 30% discount on over 200 Turkey/Ottoman History titles published by IB Tauris.
Turkey Book Talk episode #64 – JOHN MCMANUS, post-doctoral fellow at the British Institute at Ankara, on “WELCOME TO HELL? IN SEARCH OF THE REAL TURKISH FOOTBALL” (W&N), a colourful exploration of what the beautiful game can tell us about a football-mad society and Turkey’s modern history.
Download the episode or listen below.
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Here’s my review of the book from last week.
Support Turkey Book Talk by becoming a member. Membership gives you full transcripts in English and Turkish of every interview upon publication, transcripts of the entire Turkey Book Talk archive, and access to an exclusive 30% discount on over 200 Turkey/Ottoman History titles published by IB Tauris.
Raja Shehadeh on travels with his Ottoman uncle
December 8, 2017
Unfortunately topical episode of Turkey Book Talk this week – Palestinian author and lawyer RAJA SHEHADEH on his book A RIFT IN TIME: TRAVELS WITH MY OTTOMAN UNCLE (OR/Basic Books), retracing the journey of his great uncle Najib Nassar, who was on the run from the Ottoman authorities for three years in Greater Syria from 1915.
Download the episode or listen below.
Here’s my review of the book at HDN.
The Nation has also just published a beautifully written long-ish profile of Raja Shehadeh that is well worth reading.
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* SPECIAL OFFER *
You can support Turkey Book Talk by taking advantage of a 33% discount plus free delivery (cheaper than Amazon) on five different titles, courtesy of Hurst Publishers:
- ‘Jihad and Death: The Global Appeal of Islamic State’ by Olivier Roy
- ‘The Circassian: A Life of Eşref Bey, Late Ottoman Insurgent and Special Agent’ by Benjamin Fortna
- ‘The New Turkey and its Discontents’ by Simon Waldman and Emre Çalışkan
- ‘The Poisoned Well: Empire and its Legacy in the Middle East’ by Roger Hardy
- ‘Out of Nowhere: The Syrian Kurds in Peace and War’ by Michael Gunter
Follow this link to get that discount from Hurst Publishers.
Another way to support the podcast, if you enjoy or benefit from it: Make a pledge to Turkey Book Talk via Patreon. Many thanks to current supporters Michelle Zimmer, Steve Bryant, Jan-Markus Vömel, Celia Jocelyn Kerslake, Aaron Ataman, Max Hoffman, Andrew MacDowall, Paul Levin, Ayla Jean Yackley and Tan Tunalı.
Lora Sarı on the Istanbul-based Armenian publisher Aras
November 24, 2017
Turkey Book Talk episode #52 – LORA SARI on the Aras Publishing House, set up in Istanbul in 1993 as a “window onto Armenian literature.” We also discuss Mıgırdıç Margosyan’s “Infidel Quarter,” published this year as Aras’ first English-language title.
Download the episode or listen below.
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Extras
- Episode of Turkey Book Talk from last year on Zabel Yessayan.
- Brief profile of Yetvart Tomasyan, one of Aras’ founding fathers.
- My review of Tuba Çandar’s biography of Hrant Dink in HDN.
- Interview with Tuba Çandar discussing that book and Hrant Dink’s life.
* SPECIAL OFFER *
You can support Turkey Book Talk by taking advantage of a 33% discount plus free delivery (cheaper than Amazon) on five different titles, courtesy of Hurst Publishers:
- ‘Jihad and Death: The Global Appeal of Islamic State’ by Olivier Roy
- ‘The Circassian: A Life of Eşref Bey, Late Ottoman Insurgent and Special Agent’ by Benjamin Fortna
- ‘The New Turkey and its Discontents’ by Simon Waldman and Emre Çalışkan
- ‘The Poisoned Well: Empire and its Legacy in the Middle East’ by Roger Hardy
- ‘Out of Nowhere: The Syrian Kurds in Peace and War’ by Michael Gunter
Follow this link to get that discount from Hurst Publishers.
Another way to support the podcast, if you enjoy or benefit from it: Make a pledge to Turkey Book Talk via Patreon. Many thanks to current supporters Michelle Zimmer, Steve Bryant, Jan-Markus Vömel, Celia Jocelyn Kerslake, Aaron Ataman, Max Hoffman, Andrew MacDowall, Paul Levin and Tan Tunalı.
Ekin Oklap on ‘The Red-Haired Woman’ and translating Orhan Pamuk
September 29, 2017
Turkey Book Talk episode #48 – EKIN OKLAP on translating Orhan Pamuk into English and the release of “THE RED-HAIRED WOMAN” (Faber), the second novel she has worked on with Pamuk.
Download the episode or listen below:
Here’s my review of the book at HDN.
Subscribe to Turkey Book Talk : iTunes / PodBean / Stitcher / Acast / RSS
As mentioned in the episode, here is an earlier episode with Pamuk’s previous translator, Maureen Freely, discussing the tragic life of Sabahattin Ali and her translation of his classic 1943 novel “Madonna in a Fur Coat”:
* DON’T FORGET SPECIAL OFFER *
You can support Turkey Book Talk by taking advantage of a 33% discount plus free delivery (cheaper than Amazon) on five different titles, courtesy of Hurst Publishers:
- ‘Jihad and Death: The Global Appeal of Islamic State’ by Olivier Roy
- ‘The Circassian: A Life of Eşref Bey, Late Ottoman Insurgent and Special Agent’ by Benjamin Fortna
- ‘The New Turkey and its Discontents’ by Simon Waldman and Emre Çalışkan
- ‘The Poisoned Well: Empire and its Legacy in the Middle East’ by Roger Hardy
- ‘Out of Nowhere: The Syrian Kurds in Peace and War’ by Michael Gunter
Follow this link to get that discount from Hurst Publishers.
Another way to support the podcast, if you enjoy or benefit from it: Make a pledge to Turkey Book Talk via Patreon. Many thanks to current supporters Michelle Zimmer, Steve Bryant, Jan-Markus Vömel, Celia Jocelyn Kerslake, Aaron Ataman, Max Hoffman, Andrew MacDowall and Paul Levin.
Hale Yılmaz on social transformation in Turkey, yesterday and today
January 27, 2017
In this new Turkey Book Talk episode Southern Illinois University associate professor of history Hale Yılmaz speaks about her book “Becoming Turkish: Nationalist Reforms and Cultural Negotiations in Early Republican Turkey, 1923-1945” (Syracuse University Press).
Download the episode or listen below.
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Background reading:
- Alexandros Lamprou discusses his book on the People’s Houses: “Nation-Building in Modern Turkey: The People’s Houses, the State and the Citizen”.
- A visit to Mahmut Makal on the 60th anniversary of his autobiographical book “Bizim Köy” (Our Village), describing the tough life of a village teacher in early republican Turkey.
If you enjoy or benefit from the podcast and want to support it, click here to make a small or large donation to Turkey Book Talk via Patreon.
Many thanks to my current supporters Özlem Beyarslan, Steve Bryant, Celia Jocelyn Kerslake and Aaron Ataman.
Ece Temelkuran, Kaya Genç and Can Dündar in the TLS
January 5, 2017
Apologies – bit late to post this review of mine that was in the Christmas edition of the Times Literary Supplement, currently still available to read online for non-subscribers to TLS. Click here to read.
It’s a triple-header, reviewing Ece Temelkuran’s “Turkey: The Insane and the Melancholy,” Kaya Genç’s “Under the Shadow: Rage and Revolution in Modern Turkey,” and Can Dündar’s “We Are Arrested: A Journalist’s Notes from a Turkish Prison.”
Follow this link or listen below to the previous Turkey Book Talk episode with Temelkuran:
Or listen to the episode with Genç from a couple of months ago:
By the way, Turkey Book Talk is now also available to listen on Acast. Check it out.
Kaya Genç on rage and revolution in modern Turkey
November 25, 2016
Kaya Genç returns to the Turkey Book Talk podcast. This time he joins to discuss his new book “Under the Shadow: Rage and Revolution in Modern Turkey,” which profiles young Turks from across the political spectrum.
Download the episode or listen below:
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My review of the book will be appearing in the next couple of weeks in the Times Literary Supplement so keep your eyes peeled for that.
Here’s the episode from earlier this year with Kaya discussing “An Istanbul Anthology”, which he edited:
NB: If you like this podcast and want to support independent podcasting, click here to make a small or large monetary donation to Turkey Book Talk via Patreon.
Many thanks to current supporters Özlem Beyarslan, Steve Bryant, Celia Jocelyn Kerslake and Aaron Ataman.
Özge Samancı on ‘Dare to Disappoint: Growing up in Turkey’
October 12, 2016
Özge Samancı talks to Turkey Book Talk about her bestselling graphic memoir “Dare to Disappoint: Growing up in Turkey” (Farrar Straux Giroux). It’s a charming book and everyone I know who has read it raves about it.
Download the podcast episode or listen below.
Subscribe to Turkey Book Talk : iTunes / PodBean / Stitcher / Facebook / RSS
Here’s my review of the book from a few months ago.
Many thanks to current supporters Özlem Beyarslan, Steve Bryant, Andrew Cruickshank and Aaron Ataman.
Maureen Freely joins to discuss the tragic life of author Sabahattin Ali and her translation of his classic 1943 novel “Madonna in a Fur Coat,” just published in a first ever English edition by Penguin.
Download the episode or listen below:
Subscribe to Turkey Book Talk: iTunes / PodBean / Stitcher / Facebook / RSS
Check my review of the book at Hürriyet Daily News, previously published in the Times Literary Supplement.
Support the Turkey Book Talk podcast with a per episode donation via Patreon – Many thanks to current supporters Özlem Beyarslan, Steve Bryant and Andrew Cruickshank.
Kaya Genç talks Istanbul writing
January 9, 2016
Happy New Year!
First Turkey Book Talk pod of the year is with novelist Kaya Genç, the editor of “An Istanbul Anthology” (AUC Press), a new selection of classic writing on Istanbul by classic names including Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway, and Lady Mary Wortley Montagu.
Happily, I’ve finally picked up a decent mic so the podcasts should now be more listenable. Hooray!
Here’s text of interview at the Hürriyet Daily News.
And here’s my review of the book.
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