Translating Turkish Poetry

This thesis demonstrates how the development of my work as a translator implicitly challenges some of the principal values and assumptions inscribed in the works of my predecessors. I identify what these values and assumptions are in the process of translating poetry from Turkish to English, and why they present particular problems. Throughout, I show how these problems can be reconceptualised, re-examined, and overcome. In section 2 I contextualise my work in the field of literary translation from Turkish to English during the period 1900 to 2012. I sub-divide this period of translation activity into three distinct phases and further justify this sub-division by contextualising these phases in relation to changing attitudes and tastes toward Turkish poetry, particularly in light of increased availability of financial support for translators and increased opportunities to publish literary works in translation. In section 3 I focus on translations of İlhan Berk to demonstrate differences in practice that distinguish my work from the work of my contemporaries. I further extend this comparative analysis of translation strategies in section 4 where I examine the dominant values and constraints influencing choice in the reading and re-making of Turkish poems in English. Finally, in section 5, I shift perspective to provide a descriptive commentary of critical reactions to some of my translation work