Absinthe #19, Our Spotlight on Turkey is Available Now

Absinthe 19 is a special issue focused on the literature and art of Turkey and features great poetry and prose by Ece Temelkuran, Gülten Akın, Gökçenur Ç., Seyhan Erozçelık, Sami Baydar, Güven Turan, Oğuz Atay, Bilge Karasu, Murathan Mungan, Mine Söğüt, Şebnem İşigüzel, Mehmet Yashin, Ahmet Büke, and Mustafa Ziyalan. In addition to our book, film, and music recommendations, the issue includes cover art and a portfolio by artist Gözde İlkin.

Check out more here.

Venturing to visit Istanbul’s famous walls

By NIKI GAMM
From http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/

When does a date become old history? These days, in the world of literature any novel set 20 years ago or more becomes part of the historical fiction genre. Does a true adventure that occurred nearly 25 years ago count as the past? Given all the recent articles on Istanbul’s city walls following the murder of an American tourist, perhaps you would be interested in excerpts from a firsthand account of people who lived inside the walls, which was published in this newspaper Sept. 15, 1989. It was a warm day when my colleague and friend Gül Demir and I walked the walls.

The police insisted that there were no people living in the city’s land walls. No gypsies, nobody. Everyone had been cleared out when the restoration project initiated by former Mayor Bedrettin Dalan began. We wouldn’t find anyone, they said.

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Absinthe Video of the Week: Orhan Pamuk

As we continue to prepare for Absinthe 19, our spotlight on Turkey, enjoy this video of Orhan Pamuk as he introduces his novel, Silent House, published in English translation last fall by Knopf.

Support the work of Absinthe

As you know, Absinthe is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and all donations are tax-deductible. This is a great time to help us continue our work: publishing Absinthe, sponsoring our reading series (Wednesday Night Sessions), and the other literary and film events we present.

Next year we enter our 10th year and it promises to be a big year with the publication of a special issue of Absinthe focused on Turkey, and the publication of our first book, European Trash by Ulf Peter Hallberg.

Please consider making a contribution now. You can do that at our web site here or by sending a check to Absinthe, PO Box 2297, Farmington Hills, MI 48333.

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Happy New Year and thank you for your continued support!