In this Book
- Ottoman Lyric Poetry: An Anthology
- Book
- 2006
- Published by: University of Washington Press
- Series: Publications on the Near East
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 printed, lithographed, and hand-written Ottoman script versions of several of the texts--a bonus for those studying Ottoman Turkish. Biographies of the poets and background information on Ottoman history and literature complete the volume.
Table of Contents
- Acknowledgments
- pp. xi-xii
- Poet's Preface
- pp. xiii-xiv
- The Gathering of Desire
- pp. 25-26
- Nesîmî
- 1. Oh my idol
- p. 27
- Ahmed-i Da'î
- Sheyhî
- 3. Your sun-face
- pp. 29-30
- Ahmet Pasha
- The Mejlis: Gatherings of Desire
- pp. 33-34
- Nejâtî
- 7. Those glances rain down arrows
- pp. 36-38
- 8. The heart is pleased
- pp. 39-40
- 9. Those tulip-cheeked ones
- pp. 41-42
- 10. Spiraling, the sparks
- pp. 43-44
- Mihrî Hatun
- 11. I opened my eyes
- p. 49
- 13. My heart burns
- pp. 51-52
- Zeyneb Hatun
- 14. Remove your veil
- p. 53
- Revânî
- 15. What do you say
- p. 54
- Lâmi'î
- 16. Yesterday I saw
- p. 55
- Zâtî
- The Pleasantries of Zâtî
- pp. 57-58
- Hâyretî
- Figânî
- The Cosmos and the Earth
- pp. 61-62
- Fevrî
- 21. The arrow of your glance
- pp. 64-65
- Hayâliî
- 22. They do know how to search
- pp. 66-67
- The Story of Leylâ and Mejnûn
- pp. 70-73
- Fuzûlî
- 27. For long years
- p. 76
- Hüsrev, Shîrîn, and Ferhâd
- pp. 78-81
- Nisâyî
- 29. We are the Mejnun
- pp. 82-83
- Fabulous Birds
- pp. 84-86
- Nev'î
- 31. Help me, oh sapling
- pp. 88-89
- Bâkî
- 32. That tyrant
- pp. 90-92
- 33. Oh beloved, since the origin
- pp. 93-94
- 37. Your rebellious glance
- pp. 98-99
- Yahyâ Bey
- 39. Poetry holds the written veil
- pp. 101-102
- Rûhî
- Sheyhülislâm Yahyâ
- 41. Saki, offer the cup
- p. 104
- 42. Let the hypocrites
- p. 105
- 43. Is there no heart
- p. 106
- The Down on Your Cheek
- pp. 107-108
- Nef'î
- 44. That black drunken eye
- pp. 109-110
- Sheyhülislâm Bahâyi
- Nâbî
- 50. At the gathering of joy
- pp. 116-117
- Rûmî's Mirror
- pp. 118-121
- Nâ'ilî
- 51. We are the snake
- pp. 122-123
- 52. My tears became desire
- pp. 124-125
- 53. Since the thunderbolt of disaster
- pp. 126-127
- 54. What witch are you
- p. 128
- Poetic Parallels
- pp. 129-130
- Neshâtî
- 55. We are desire
- p. 131
- Nedîm
- 59. When the east wind
- p. 135
- 61. Take yourself to the rose-garden
- pp. 137-139
- 62. Delicacy was drawn out
- pp. 140-141
- Koja Râgib Pasha
- Râsih Bey
- Fitnat Hanım
- 65. In a heart
- p. 144
- Esrâr Dede
- 66. In the ruins
- p. 145
- The Indian Style
- pp. 147-148
- Sheyh Gâlib
- 68. You are my effendi
- pp. 149-150
- 69. I won't abandon you
- pp. 151-152
- 70. To me, love is the flame
- pp. 153-154
- Sünbülzâde Vehbî
- 71. Oh east wind, come
- p. 155
- Enderunlu Vâsif
- Izzet Mollâ
- 73. Everyone knows
- p. 157
- 74. I am a nightingale
- p. 158
- Yenishhirli 'Avnî
- 75. Don't think we came to ask
- pp. 159-160
- Ottoman Turkish Texts
- pp. 269-306
- Ottoman Script Texts
- pp. 307-330
- Bibliography
- pp. 331-336