Introduce yourself

[metin]

Does this not, in effect, cut modern Turkish people off from everything written before 1928 (the year that our alphabet was introduced for Turkish with a few added diacritical marks), unless they have learnt to read the Arabic alphabet, or the books have been transliterated into the Roman alphabet? This surely means that a kind of filtering takes place, because not all books from before 1928 will automatically be transliterated and republished in the modern alphabet.

Unfortunately, we are incapable of reading the 19th century works in its original form. And even worse, let alone transliteration, there began the tendency of translating some of these books to contemporary Turkish as they contain many loanwords from other language. There's an enormous gap between the old and the modern now. I guess the difference between modern Turkish and the great old Turkish (called Ottoman) can be compared to the difference between what they call "Simplified Englih" and "English" as we see at Wikipedia. Or Newspeak! Only those who cannot endure this mediocrity chase after old books and the old language.

[Stewart]

A quick hello to kukumaluphoon and metin. I've been away the last few days. Nice to see some new faces appear in that time.

[Eric]

Metin's reply in #81 is very interesting. We Brits can, with a little goodwill, endnotes and education, read things written as far back as the 17th century. But Kemal Atat?rk has in effect chopped your history in two by changing the alphabet.

I understand, however, that given the fact that the Arabic alphabet focuses on consonants (ditto Hebrew), and Turkish has a lot of vowels, that maybe the present solution is better phonetically.

We've not had many purists in Britain to get rid of French loanwords or similar, so our language is still an illogically [i-LO-dži-kli] spelt ragbag of Germanic and Romance elements.

[Mirabell]

I really like how books smell.

Don't we all?

[iiris]

Hello you all,

I am a refugee searching of new forums in which talk of books and, dare I say it, debate them too. Having found this through a link and a mentioning by someone on the Palimpsest-forum, I am feeling right at home after a brief look around. Not only have I spent my life reading books from all over, I was also brought up in a country that's not the one I have my passport from, spent occasional year in my original home country and somewhere else, and now reside in yet another country. Confusing? You bet.

Anyways, growing up with three cultures, all wrapped in one, has made me read a interesting mix of books and left me a thirst for more. (While the Russian classics were not part of my childhood and upbringing, we read many enough of them to warrant a nickname DRD, Dead Russian Dudes, back in high school.) And I cannot wait to get into discussion over them all around here!

[Irene Wilde]

Hello iiris! I believe we may have crossed paths at some of those other forums. If so, then it is good to see you again. If not, then I look forward to your multicultural perspective.

[iiris]

Oh, thank you!
I'm curious now... do we know of each other? Hmmm... mysterious, this is. (Okay, I really need to stop playing with the Yoda-speak Google application. But it's too much fun!)

[Irene Wilde]

I'm sure we will get to know each other here, and that will be what is important.

[Mirabell]

Hi

I'm 26 yrs old, finishing my master's thesis in Germany on James Merrill's poetry. I study American, German and French lit and will be unemployed and starving once I'm done.

I can speak and understand Russian, as I am partly of Russian descent, but I read Russian books in translation because my Russian is not nearly good enough. I write prose and poetry. I read a lot. I can read fluently in English, German and French and am currently getting teh hang of Italian, although I have not segued into serious literature yet, same thing goes for Spanish.

I am deeply mistrustful of translations, as L?szl? Krasznahorkai said: "I don't believe in translations. Zero komma zero zero per cent."

However, it's all we have to access world literature without learning dozens of languages. So I read lots of translated prose, I oscillate between french, English and German translations, depending on which is better (Or cheaper). Japanese books mostly in english translation, dutch books mostly in German translation, everything else fluctuates. I have Pavese's journals in the awardwinning German translation and his poetry in the English one.

I very very very rarely read translated poetry, because any translation of poetry is bound to be a fuckup. Some of the most beautiful translations I own, for instance, Celan's translation of Ungaretti, are at least as much Celan's work as they are Ungarettis.

I read many many books at the same time, there's a constant flux of books from my shelves to the reading pile and back again. I am, as far as reading is concerned, an omnivore, Currently I have Stephen KIng, The Tale of Genji and Killoyle in my reading pile.

I love books, words and ideas.

[saliotthomas]

And you don't have your tongue in your pocket as we French say.

Welcome Mirabell,(also the name of excellent liquor)and i hope your loaded guns won't be aiming my way,i like your style so far.

[Beth]

Hi Mirabell, and welcome. I like your style as well and laughed aloud at your comments about Philip and the Nobel. Stewart will have you whipped into shape and reading even poetry in translation before long!

[Mirabell]

Thanks for the nice welcome.

I know Stewart from elsewhere and like a lot how he's organized this forum.
I am getting the hang of all these tags and stuff and I can definitely see the advantages of this system.

Good to hear my bile isn't turning people off here.

[bibliobibuli]

Hi! I'm Sharon Bakar. I'm British but have lived in Malaysia for 25 years, so this is my home. I'm a teacher and teacher trainer by profession but now am working freelance and on stuff that I choose to do. I write articles on books and authors for several Malaysian publications, and write reviews. I organise events for writers in Kuala Lumpur and engage in whatever kinds of literary activism seem useful. I also teach a creative writing course in partnership with the British Council here. And I blog about books from a Malaysian perspective. (http://thebookaholic.blogspot.com).

I read mostly literary fiction, and am trying to read as much by Malaysian authors as I can including titles that have now gone out of print. I read in Malay although not as fluently as I would like.

I also enjoy learning about authors from other parts of the world so am looking forward to exploring this site.

[Mirabell]

Hey, welcome.

So, you also read Malaysian authors in English translation or did I misunderstand you? If so, how do they usually fare in translation, in yr experience, as you can read them in both languages?

[Stewart]

Stewart will have you whipped into shape and reading even poetry in translation before long!

Hmmm, I don't know about that. I have one volume of translated poetry, Federico Garc?a Lorca's Poet In New York, that I got as part of a Penguin Classics set. I don't even read that much poetry in English, never mind in translation.

I read mostly literary fiction, and am trying to read as much by Malaysian authors as I can including titles that have now gone out of print.

Well, by all means please let us know about them regardless. As you can see, the Malaysian Literature content is limited at present.

[kamalakanta Mohanty]

Kamalakanta Mohanty. I live in Kolkata (Calcutta), the great Indian city on the Ganges. I am an economic jounalist by profession. A lover of literature. Write in two languages: English and my mother tongue Oriya. Have published books in both the languages. Please have a look at `Orissa The Lost Footsteps' on the Net.

[Mirabell]

Kamalakanta Mohanty. I live in Kolkata (Calcutta), the great Indian city on the Ganges. I am an economic jounalist by profession. A lover of literature. Write in two languages: English and my mother tongue Oriya. Have published books in both the languages. Please have a look at `Orissa The Lost Footsteps' on the Net.

Very cool. Lookin forward to yr contributions. Indian Lit's always interesting.

[sarah1952]

I'm Sarah and I absolutely love to read. I enjoy suggestions of books and discovering new authors. I'm currently reading "The Book Thief" which is listed as young adult fiction, I really like it so I guess that means at some level I'm a young adult.

[Stewart]

Hi Sarah. Hope you find some interesting ideas here.

[JPS]

I'm a novelist and screenwriter (with five titles published and now, of course, out of print), and have recently completed a new book, a literary novel placed firmly within the genre of the espionage novel.

Interests include reading in French?Proust, first and foremost, for whose latest biography, by William C. Carter, I was a reader/consultant?and writers working over the last twenty or so years. Writers I like in French are Ren? Belletto (a friend), Jean-Patrick Manchette, Jean Echenoz, et al. I read much fiction in translation from other languages, as well. And...I have had and continue to have a great interest in British writers of the 30s and 40s--Waugh, Green, Greene, Hamilton, etc.

My influences are kept well-hidden in my work and I like to think I have developed my own particular voice by now.

More about me here: J.P. Smith | Red Room Writer Profile | Red Room