Writer and Poet Mehmet Yaşın at Bilkent
The Bilkent University Center for Turkish Literature held a conference entitled "Diller ve Edebi Mekanlar Arasında Yazarken" (Writing In Between Languages and Literary Spaces) by writer and poet Mehmet Yaşın on Friday, November 2.
Mr. Yaşın, one of the leading writers of contemporary Turkish poetry, is also one of the internationally best-known contemporary poets and authors from Cyprus. He has published eight poetry collections, two novels, three essay collections and three anthologies and studies of Cypriot poetry. His books have played an important role in redefining the literary traditions of Cyprus and Turkey.
As a writer who lives between Nicosia, London and İstanbul, Mr. Yaşın's talk focused on questions concerning the relationship of place and literature: Where is the literary space of a writer/poet's works -- is it the place where he/she lives, or is it a place of his/her childhood or dreams? And especially for a writer/poet who travels between countries and cities, what is the connection between these places and their works?
Expanding on the latter theme, Mr. Yaşın noted that the issue of the literary experience of a writer who exists between a multiplicity of literary spaces is an important one, although rarely seen in Turkish-language works.