Before reading translated Turkish Poems we must inquire into the relation between language and poetry.

Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar, a Turkish writer, poet, and literary historian describes the impossibility of separating poetry from language in his poetics as follows:

“Poetry is the property of the language in which it is written. It possesses its beauties, exists, provided that it is read in that language. Because poetry is the essence of language, its fragrance, its taste, its musical ability, or its special form; all of which are born from it.” (…) “Poetry is an art of inner fortress. Because when language is used not as a means, but as material and essence, it becomes the inner fortress of the nation. When taken in this way, it is the very essence, foam, flower, and crown of a nation’s people, history, and culture. Art made with it becomes an art of inner fortress. It achieves its victories slowly from there.”

For Tanpınar “there is no greater mesure of a nation than its language.” and poetry allows one to explore the edges of language. To truly understand a culture, literature, or people, one must earnestly scrutinize its language, poetry being its most insightful product.

Even thought great poetry translations exist, the more a poem feeds from its mother tongue the more difficult it gets to operate worthy translation. Here, you will find humble attempts to translate selected poems, aiming to convey not only their meaning but also their essence, style, and linguistic nuances.

Let’s start our journey of Turkish Poetry with one of Tanpınar’s iconic poems:

Neither am I within time 
Nor completely out of it; 
In the seamless, vast moment's 
Unbroken flow I sit.

The complete poem: Neither am I within time

Read Also: What is poetry and why?