I, Orhan Veli [Hardcover]

Orhan Veli (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1989

poetry, tr from Turkish by Murat Nemet-Nejat

Editorial Reviews

Review

Orhan Veli Kanik, to use his full name, was one of the two or three indisputably great Turkish poets of this century. Writing at a time when the Turkish language was undergoing vast changes (primarily because words derived from Arabic and Persian were being exchanged for new ones in "Turkish"), Orhan Veli chose a vernacular, rather than traditional or literary, idiom for his poetry. English is so different from Turkish (which does not belong to the Indo-European family), that it is virtually impossible for translators to do more than hint at the nature of the originaL The successful translation of these poems requires a vocabulary and syntax which, at least, operates satisfactorily on its own terms (even if it fails to echo the original). And only a poet can do that. Murat Nemet-Nejat is a native speaker of Turkish (he grew up in Istanbul, Orhan Veli's city), but he has long since established himself as a respected translator and poet in English. He has not so much translated Orhan Veli's poems as recreated them in English. Talat Sait Halman, the dean of Turkish-English translators, tried this twenty years ago and succeeded. Now we have two remarkable versions in English. At the center of Orhan Veli's work is great charm and playfulness but, simultaneoulsy, a terrible sadness. It requires enormous dexterity to keep that balance in English, but this is exactly what Nemet-Nejat does. Here is his version of "Birds Tell Lies": "Do not listen. my coat~ do not listen To what the birds are telling you, You are my confidante in life. Do not listen, birds tell this lie With every coming spring; Do not listen, my coat, do not, ever!" -- From Independent Publisher

Language Notes

Text: English, Turkish (translation) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 116 pages
• Publisher: Hanging Loose Press (January 1, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0914610651
• ISBN-13: 978-0914610656
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,090,591 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars incredible, December 31, 2000

By 

Mois Benarroch - See all my reviews

This review is from: I, Orhan Veli: Poems (Paperback)

"What we have not done/for our mother/land/ some of us died/some of us gave speeches."

Incredible simplicity, one line tells more than entire books. Read each poem easily and quickly and think about it for years.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Poems with Simple Language, September 17, 2002

By 

Utku Tansug (Copenhagen, Denmark) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I, Orhan Veli: Poems (Paperback)

Orhan Veli is among the greatest poets of the Turkish literature on a par with Nazim Hikmet and Melih Cevdet. It is rare that the true feeling of a poem remains after undergoing even the most professional translation. Besides, the skill is in meaning the most with the simplest words possible. The simplicity of his language makes his poems as genuine and majestic as it is in its native language.

1.0 out of 5 stars Great Poet vs Horrible Translation, January 18, 2010

By 

Oak Tree - See all my reviews

This review is from: I, Orhan Veli: Poems (Paperback)

I try to buy turkish poetry books to my english speaking friends and usually end up with nothing. This translation is no different. The phonetics of the poems have been totally ruined and the meaning of words in-the-sake-of-maintaining simplicity have been diminished drastically. I would strongly not recommend this version as the reader will obviously be mislead and hope for a better one to be published in future.