Ottoman Lyric Poetry: An AnthologyWalter G. Andrews, Najaat Black, Mehmet Kalpakli Like a treasure-filled storehouse to which we have lost the key, Ottoman lyric poetry is almost unknown today, particularly among Western readers. Yet, during the centuries in which the Ottoman Empire was one of the world's great powers, poetry was its central medium of cultural expression. From love to the most profound search for spiritual truth to impassioned pleas for employment or largesse, everything that touched people deeply was expressed in poetry. This anthology, the first major English translation of Ottoman poetry in nearly a century, unlocks the storehouse. The authors offer free verse translations of 75 lyric poems (whose original Ottoman Turkish texts are also included), spanning a period from the fourteenth through the early twentieth centuries. In addition to the poems, the authors provide concise background information on Ottoman history and literature, informative notes to the poems, and brief biographies of the poets. These materials give students and general readers sufficient context to understand the poems, without burdening the reading experience. |
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Common terms and phrases
Ahmed Alî Anatolia ankâ Ankara Arabic aşk Bâkî baña beauty beklerüz beloved's bird burn cân cheek cheek-down Chelebî couplet curl cypress dervish dîvân Divine döne döne Edirne Efendi elites eyler fame famous father Ferhâd Figânî following poem friends Fuzûlî Gâlib garden gazel gönül Grand Vizier grief Hayâlî heart heavens Hüsrev İbrâhîm Pasha İskender Istanbul İzzet Janissary jinn Kaaba kasîde Kültür Latîfî Leylâ lover lyric means Mehmed Mejnûn Mesnevî Mevlevî Mihrî mirror moon Mustafâ mystical Nâ'ilî Nâbî Nedîm Nef'î Nejâtî Nesîmî nightingale nihânız notes for poem Oh beloved Ottoman poetry Ottoman Turkish pen name Persian poet poetic Revânî rhyme rose ruler Rûm Rûmî Rûmî's saki Selîm Shâpûr Sheyh Shîrîn sigh spheres spiritual story sufi Süleymân Sultan tears torment translation Türk Turkish turn Vehbî verse weeping wine word Yahyâ Yayınları yine Zâtî که