Topic: Ahmet Arif Poetry in Translation
Date: April 16th,
Time: 6pm-7:30pm Pacific Time (California)
Beyond the Ocean of Nazım Hikmet: Hydro-futurity and the Kurdo-Anatolian Poetics of Ahmed Arif
-a talk, poetry reading and musical performance by Jason Rodriguez Vivrette and Ali Yağız Şen
Jason Rodriguez Vivrette and Ali Yağız Şen are finalizing the first complete English translation of Ahmed Arif's seminal 1968 poetry collection, Hasretinden Prangalar Eskittim (‘Longing for You Have I Worn Through Shackles’). This event will offer a talk about the work, a poetry reading, and musical performances. The talk will first contextualize Ahmed Arif and his Turkish-language work, particularly in relation to the dominant 'coastal voices' of Nazım Hikmet and Orhan Veli. While Ahmed Arif is widely known for his celebration of the mountainous eastern regions of Anatolia, the presentation will also explore how Arif legitimized such a shift away from the sea: adapting water discourses associated with the Mediterranean West to create an alternative 'hydro-poetics' of the land-locked East. In addition, the talk will touch on some of the challenges of translating the hyper-local, Kurdo-Anatolian terrain of Ahmed Arif's poetry into English. The talk will be followed by a reading of a sample of the translated poems in English, and musical performances of well-known song versions of some of Ahmed Arif’s poems.
The event will take place both in person and online on the Turkish Program Platform, and will also be streamed on Instagram Live. Participants will receive a confirmation message along with instructions and the invite link to their email and phone number as SMS.
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