Amy Marie Spangler on Leyla Erbil’s dark vision of Istanbul’s history
September 2, 2025
Turkey Book Talk #252 – Amy Marie Spangler on the late great author Leyla Erbil’s What Remains. Amy co-translated the novel, along with Alev Ersan and Mark David Wyers, for an edition that will be published by Deep Vellum in October.
First appearing in Turkish in 2011, two years before Erbil passed away, What Remains is a multilayered narrative that sweeps the reader from the Byzantine Empire to 20th century Turkey. It is also a dark elegy to the Istanbul of eras past and all that has been lost in its transformation.
Amy is the co-founder of the AnatoliaLit literary agency, so our conversation also touches on broader trends in Turkey’s contemporary literary marketplace and the growing role of AI.
Download the episode or listen below:
Read a transcript of the interview on Substack
Also check out Amy’s previous appearance on Turkey Book Talk in June 2022, discussing another Leyla Erbil novel, A Strange Woman.
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Turkey Book Talk episode 170 – Amy Marie Spangler on the great author Leyla Erbil (1931-2013) and her novel “A Strange Woman“. Spangler just co-translated a new English edition of the book, published by Deep Vellum, building on an original translation by Nermin Menemencioğlu.
First published in 1971, “A Strange Woman” weaves together the story of a young woman entering adulthood in Istanbul of the 1960s and 70s with vignettes from modern Turkish history, as well as reflections on class divides and the ambiguous position of intellectuals in society.
Download the episode or listen below:
Also check out Amy’s previous appearance on the podcast from July 2018.
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