Ottoman Lyric Poetry

by Kalpakl, Mehmet; Black, Najaat; Kalpakli, Mehmen

• ISBN13: 9780295985954
• ISBN10: 029598595X
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-04-30
• Publisher: Univ of Washington Pr

Summary

The Ottoman Empire was one of the most significant forces in world history and yet little attention is paid to its rich cultural life. For the people of the Ottoman Empire, lyrical poetry was the most prized literary activity. People from all walks of life aspired to be poets. Ottoman poetry was highly complex and sophisticated and was used to express all manner of things, from feelings of love to a plea for employment.This collection offers free verse translations of 75 lyric poems from the mid-fourteenth to the early twentieth centuries, along with the Ottoman Turkish texts and, new to this expanded edition, photographs of many of the original manuscripts. Biographies of the poets and background information on Ottoman history and literature complete the volume.

Table of Contents

Preface to the 2006 Expanded Edition	ix
Acknowledgments	xi
Poet's Preface	xiii
A Note on the Pronunciation and Transcription of Turkish	xv
OTTOMAN LYRICS: INTRODUCTORY ESSAY	3	(22)
THE GATHERING OF DESIRE	25	(136)
Nesimi
1. Oh my idol	27	(1)
Ahmed-i Dâ'i
2. The torture of the beloved	28	(1)
Sheyhi
3. Your sun-face	29	(2)
4. It's the season of spring	31	(1)
Ahmet Pasha
5. Ask about my wailing	32	(1)
The Mejlis: Gathering of Desire	33	(3)
6. Is there any heart	35	(1)
Nejâti
7. Those glances rain down arrows	36	(3)
8. The heart is pleased	39	(2)
9. Those tulip-cheeked ones	41	(2)
10. Spiraling, the sparks	43	(2)
Iskender/Alexander, Hizir, and the Fountain of Eternal Life	45	(4)
Mihri Hatun
11. I opened my eyes	49	(1)
12. At times, my longing	50	(1)
13. My heart burns	51	(2)
Zeynep Hatun
14. Remove your veil	53	(1)
Revâni
15. What do you say	54	(1)
Lâmi'i
16. Yesterday I saw	55	(1)
Zâti
17. Oh heavens, why do you cry	56	(1)
The Pleasantries of Zati	57	(2)
Hayreti
18. We are not slaves of Suleyman	59	(1)
Figâni
19. My sad heart is burnt black	60	(1)
The Cosmos and the Earth	61	(2)
20. Your kiss does not satisfy	63	(1)
Fevri
21. The arrow of your glance	64	(2)
Hayâli
22. They do not know how to search	66	(2)
23. We are among those	68	(1)
24. When dawn hennas her hands	69	(1)
The Story of Leylâ and Mejnûn	70	(4)
Fuzûli
25. Oh God, don't let anyone	74	(1)
26. If my heart were a wild bird	75	(1)
27. For long years	76	(1)
28. The pointed reproach of the enemy	77	(1)
Hüsrev, Shirin, and Ferhâd	78	(4)
Nisâyi
29. We are the Mejnûn	82	(2)
Fabulous Birds	84	(3)
Nev'i
30. We don't need the cup of pleasure	87	(1)
31. Help me, oh sapling	88	(2)
Bâki
32. That tyrant	90	(3)
33. Oh beloved, since the origin	93	(2)
34. The fountain of my spirit	95	(1)
35. If only the bud would open	96	(1)
36. Sparks from my heart	97	(1)
37. Your rebellious glance	98	(2)
Yahyâ Bey
38. Come wander through the city	100	(1)
39. Poetry holds the written veil	101	(2)
Rûhi
40. Curse the thorns of fate	103	(1)
Sheyhülislâm Yahyâ
41. Saki, offer the cup	104	(1)
42. Let the hypocrites	105	(1)
43. Is there no heart	106	(1)
The Down on Your Cheek	107	(2)
Nef'i
44. That black drunken eye	109	(2)
45. Those who painted my portrait	111	(1)
46. The heart is both the cup and the wine	112	(1)
Sheyhülislâm Bahâyi
47. Oh cry, what are you doing	113	(1)
Nâbi
48. When we watch the spinning of the sky	114	(1)
49. In the garden of time and destiny	115	(1)
50. At the gathering of joy	116	(2)
Rûmi's Mirror	118	(4)
Nâ'ili
51. We are the snake	122	(2)
52. My tears became desire	124	(2)
53. Since the thunderbolt of disaster	126	(2)
54. What witch are you	128	(1)
Poetic Parallels	129	(2)
Neshâti
55. We are desire	131	(1)
56. You're gone—I'm alone	132	(1)
57. The sky's face has turned dark	133	(1)
Nedim
58. At the gathering of desire	134	(1)
59. When the east wind	135	(1)
60. As the morning wind blows	136	(1)
61. Take yourself to the rose-garden	137	(3)
62. Delicacy was drawn out	140	(2)
Koja Râgib Pasha
63. Dark thought is revealed	142	(1)
Râsih Bey
64. Don't lower your languid eyes	143	(1)
Fitnat Hanim
65. In a heart	144	(1)
Esrâr Dede
66. In the ruins	145	(1)
67. You left, but don't forget	146	(1)
The Indian Style	147	(2)
Sheyh Gâlib
68. You are my effendi	149	(2)
69. I won't abandon you	151	(2)
70. To me, love is the flame	153	(2)
Sünbülzâde Vehbi
71. Oh east wind, come	155	(1)
Enderunlu Vâsif
72. The gazelles have bound their hearts	156	(1)
'Izzet Mollâ
73. Everyone knows	157	(1)
74. I am a nightingale	158	(1)
Yenishehirli 'Avni
75. Don't think we came to ask	159	(2)
NOTES	161	(48)
THE POETS	209	(60)
OTTOMAN TURKISH TEXTS	269	(38)
OTTOMAN SCRIPT TEXTS	307	(24)
Bibliography	331