Professor Talat S. Halman, Founding Chairman of the Department of Turkish Literature and Director of the Center for Turkish Literature at Bilkent University, was honored with a two volume (825 page) Festschrift (Armağan Kitabı) on Saturday, 15 September, at the Four Seasons Hotel in İstanbul. This publication entitled Cultural Horizons pays tribute to the extraordinary achievements of Professor Halman throughout this multifaceted career as Turkey’s first Minister of Culture, Ambassador for Cultural Affairs, professor, poet, translator, literary historian and critic, journalist, administrator, and public speaker. It also honors the unique and invaluable contributions he has made and continues to make to the world of culture including his work to increase awareness, understanding, and appreciation of Turkish culture.
The Festschrift was published in both the United States and Turkey as a reflection of Talat Halman’s career which flourishes in both countries and cultures. It carries the imprint of two distinguished presses-Yapı Kredi and Syracuse University. In fact, Cultural Horizons is the first Festschrift honoring a Turkish citizen to be published in the United States.
The Festschrift was presented by its editor Dr. Jane L. Warner, who spoke about the many accomplishments made by Professor Talat Halman, whose birthday was also celebrated on the same day. Halman then read selections from his own poetry. Güngör Dilmen presented excerpts from the one-act play entitled “Pantalogue” that he had written for the Festschrift. Among the guests were Prof. Dr. İhsan Doğramacı, Mrs. Doğramacı, Prof. Dr. Ali Doğramacı, Former Foreign Ministers Osman Olcay, and Emre Gönensay, Sabih Tansal, Bosphorus University Rector, and Attila Aşkal, Koç University Acting Rector.
Seventy-two distinguished scholars, journalists, translators, and creative writers from around the world have contributed to this work. They include Adalet Ağaoğlu, Ekrem Akurgal, Nurhan Atasoy, Erendiz Atasü, Esin Atıl, Fazıl Hüsnü Dağlarca, Bülent Ecevit, Robert Finn, Henry Glassie, Godfrey Goodwin, Doğan Hızlan, Richard Howard, Halil İnalcık, Mehmet Kalpaklı, Yaşar Kemal, Doğan Kuban, Federico Major, Anne Paolucci, Gönül Pultar, Günsel Renda, Stanford Shaw, Ehud Toledano, Speros Vryonis, Jr., and Thierry Zarcone. The essays, scholarly articles on history, art, art history, literary criticism, and Shakespeare, as well as translations, original poems, short stories, and the play, mirror the many areas of Talat Halman’s accomplishments.