Islamic Mystical Poetry

Islamic Mystical Poetry
Author: Mahmood Jamal
Publisher: Penguin UK
Total Pages: 425
Release: 2009-10-29
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0141932244

Written from the ninth to the twentieth century, these poems represent the peak of Islamic Mystical writing, from Rabia Basri to Mian Mohammad Baksh. Reflecting both private devotional love and the attempt to attain union with God and become absorbed into the Divine, many poems in this edition are imbued with the symbols and metaphors that develop many of the central ideas of Sufism: the Lover, the Beloved, the Wine, and the Tavern; while others are more personal and echo the poet's battle to leave earthly love behind. These translations capture the passion of the original poetry and are accompanied by an introduction on Sufism and the common themes apparent in the works. This edition also includes suggested further reading.

Spiritual Verses

Spiritual Verses
Author: The Jalaluddin Rumi
Publisher: Penguin UK
Total Pages: 464
Release: 2006-09-07
Genre: Poetry
ISBN: 0141936991

Begun in 1262 AD, Masnavi-ye Ma ‘navi, or ‘spiritual couplets', is thought to be the longest single-authored ‘mystical’ poem ever written. As the spiritual masterpiece of the Persian Sufi tradition, it teaches how to progress to the ultimate goal of the Sufi path - union with God. Jalaloddin Rumi was a poet and a mystic, but he was first a teacher; in these verses he draws the reader into the complexities of human love and separation and explains the path to divine love through the elimination of self-regard and worldly desires. Drawing on diverse sources from bawdy tales and fables to stories of the prophet Mohammed, these verses are brief in expression yet copious in meaning.

A Millennium of Turkish Literature

A Millennium of Turkish Literature
Author: Talat S. Halman
Publisher: Syracuse University Press
Total Pages: 185
Release: 2011-02-08
Genre: Poetry
ISBN: 0815650744

From Orhon inscriptions to Orhan Pamuk, the story of Turkish literature from the eighth century A.D. to the present day is rich and complex, full of firm traditions and daring transformations. Spanning a wide geographic range from Outer Mongolia and the environs of China through the Middle East all the way to Europe, the history of Turkish literature embraces a multitude of traditions and influences. All have left their imprint on the distinctive amalgam that is uniquely Turkish. Always receptive to the nurturing values, aesthetic tastes, and literary penchants of diverse civilizations, Turkish culture succeeded in evolving a sui generis personality. It clung to its own established traits, yet it was flexible enough to welcome innovations—and even revolutionary change. A Millennium of Turkish Literature tells the story of how literature evolved and grew in stature on the Turkish mainland over the course of a thousand years. The book features numerous poems and extracts in fluid translations by Halman and others. This volume provides a concise and captivating introduction to Turkish literature and, with selections from its extensive “Suggested Reading” section, serves as an invaluable guide to Turkish literature for course adoption.

The Penguin Book of Homosexual Verse

The Penguin Book of Homosexual Verse
Author: Stephen Coote
Publisher: Puffin
Total Pages: 408
Release: 1986
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9780140585513

A collection of poems by and about homosexuals includes authors, such as Sappho, Walter Whitman, W.H. Auden, and Allen Ginsberg

An Anthology of Turkish Literature

An Anthology of Turkish Literature
Author: Kemal Silay
Publisher:
Total Pages: 688
Release: 1996
Genre: Authors, Turkish
ISBN:

Includes some of the earliest known Old Turkic and Middle Turkic texts, Ottoman court literature, medieval Turkish popular literature, 19th century Ottoman literature, literature of the Republic period, and even the most contemporary postmodern writings of presendt day Turkey.

The Penguin Dictionary of Islam

The Penguin Dictionary of Islam
Author: Azim Nanji
Publisher: Penguin UK
Total Pages: 323
Release: 2008-04-24
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0141920866

Islam today is a truly global faith, yet it remains somewhat of an enigma to many of us. Each and every day our newspapers are saturated with references to Islam; Quran, Taliban, Hijab, Fatwa, Allah, Sunni, Jihad, Shia, the list goes on. But how much do we really understand? Are we, in fact, misunderstanding? The Penguin Dictionary of Islam provides complete, impartial answers. It includes extensive coverage of the historical formations of the worldwide Muslim community and highlights key modern Muslim figures and events. Understanding Islam is vital to understanding our world and this text is the definitive authority, designed for both general and academic readers.

The Poetry of Yunus Emre, A Turkish Sufi Poet

The Poetry of Yunus Emre, A Turkish Sufi Poet
Author: Yunus Emre
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 159
Release: 1993-07-22
Genre: History
ISBN: 0520097815

The popularity of Yunus Emre, who is often referred to as the Turkish national poet, has endured for six centuries. Yunus is the most important representative of early Turkish mysticism; he can be considered the founder of Alevi-Bektasi literature, and his influence on later tekke poetry was enormous. His ilahis (hymns) have played an important role in sufi ceremonies. Grace Martin Smith's translation of Yunus's poetry will acquaint the non-Turkish reader with the art and thinking of one of Turkey's most significant poets and will be helpful to students of both modern and Ottoman Turkish and to all those interested in Islamic poetry and piety.

Turkish Nomad

Turkish Nomad
Author: Jayne L. Warner
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 671
Release: 2017-11-13
Genre: History
ISBN: 1838609806

Here, Jayne L. Warner has created a unique biographical tapestry that illuminates not only the life of one of Turkey's leading literary and cultural authorities, but also the emergence of a republic in his native country, and sheds new light on the history of one of the world's great cities. Sumptuously illustrated throughout with evocative period pictures of Istanbul, Turkish Nomad tells the extraordinary life story of this poet, thinker, and diplomat. As a young boy, Halman surveyed the last vestiges of the Ottoman Empire, walked through the ruins of Byzantium, and grew up in the modern nation created by the charismatic Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Talat S. Halman would go on to serve the republic as its first minister of culture. The more than four decades Halman lived primarily in the United States are not overlooked but are used to discuss how his ideas developed as he taught at leading unversities-Princeton, Columbia, New York University-and introduced Americans to Turkish literature and culture through his translations and public lectures. We In the Turkish Nomad we follow the literary, scholastic, and journalistic journey of a restless writer, who might best be described by the title of one of his books, The Turkish Muse, his 2006 collection of literary reviews tracing the development of Turkish literature during the Turkish Republic.

Turkish Literature as World Literature

Turkish Literature as World Literature
Author: Burcu Alkan
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 264
Release: 2020-12-10
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1501358030

Essays covering a broad range of genres and ranging from the late Ottoman era to contemporary literature open the debate on the place of Turkish literature in the globalized literary world. Explorations of the multilingual cosmopolitanism of the Ottoman literary scene are complemented by examples of cross-generational intertextual encounters. The renowned poet Nâzim Hikmet is studied from a variety of angles, while contemporary and popular writers such as Orhan Pamuk and Elif Safak are contextualized. Turkish Literature as World Literature not only fills a significant lacuna in world literary studies but also draws a composite historical, political, and cultural portrait of Turkey in its relations with the broader world.