Readings : What brings us together ?

Lezing

Friday 20 September
17.00u - 18.00u

Price: Gratuit / Gratis / Free Language: Turkish / Dutch / German Location: Mezzanine

Chaque poétesse lira dans sa langue d'écriture et des surtitres seront fournis en anglais, néerlandais et français / Each poet will read in her writing language, and surtitles will be provided in English, Dutch and French / Elke dichteres draagt voor in haar schrijftaal, met ondertitels in het Engels, Nederlands en Frans.

with

Ceren Uzuner, Karin Karakaşlı, Lütfiye Güzel & Gonca Özmen - Host: Golringue (Mélanie) Huchet

Presentations

Discover the poetry and literary works of four poets and writers invited to Poetik Bazar in the frame of the focus on Türkiye, where some of them were born, live(d) in, have roots in or a connection with. They will all read fragments of their work in the language they are writing in. Surtitres will be provided in English, Dutch and French.

der kurze weg zum bahnhof ist
der längste weg der reise
was ich kenne
lasse ich zurück
und manchmal setze ich mich so hin
dass die stadt mich verfolgt
und manchmal setze ich mich so hin
dass ich ihr dabei zusehen kann

aus "pinky helsinki" (Notizen)
Lütfiye Güzel, Aus Pinky Helsinki (Notizen)

the short walk to the station
is the longest part of the trip
I leave behind what I know
and sometimes I sit
so the city is chasing me
and sometimes I sit
so I can watch it
while it does

from: Lütfiye Güzel, From Pinky Helsinki (notes)
Translation: Jon Cho Polizzi

Kimselere söyleme sende gördüydüm ilk
Bir vapurun nasıl eskidiğini
Bir sabaha başlamanın tetiğini
Sonra sonra üç kişiliğimizi öpüşürken
Ocakta taşan sütte yanar gibi

Yine de kimselere söyleme öncesini
Uyanır da alır yanımdan yokluk seni
Gonca Özmen, İTİRAF

Don’t tell a soul that in you first I saw:
Just how a ferryboat grows old
The trigger that sets off morning
Our three persons burnt as we kissed
In the milk boiling over on the stove
Still don’t tell a soul of all that came before
Or nothingness will wake to steal you from my side

Gonca Özmen, CONFESSION
Translation: Neil P. Doherty

Kimse ilk basmaz bir toprağa
Sırtlanırsın geçmiş ruhları
Tanrılar Tanrıçalar da bir
zaman sen gibi canlardı
İçinden geçer hepsinin gücü, zaafı
Aşağıda toprağın üzerinde

Karin Karakaşlı, Tarih-Coğrafya

/

Personne ne pose en premier le pas sur une terre
Tu portes toujours sur ton dos les âmes passées
Dieux et Déesses aussi
étaient comme toi en vie
Leurs forces, leurs faiblesses te traversent
Ici-bas, sur la terre
Karin Karakaşlı, Histoire-Géographie
Traduction: Canan Marasligil

worden we geteisterd door nachtmerries, blazen oudtantes koranverzen over ons gelaat
op de veranda behandelen ze onze geschaafde knieën met as uit de steenoven
vermengd met olie, citroensap en honing – zij zeggen dat het werkt, wij geloven hen

Ceren Uzuner, in de stilte worden dochters geboren

Our speakers

Ceren Uzuner

Ceren Uzuner writes prose and poetry focusing on love and identity. She studied creative writing at ArtEZ, performed on various stages, and won the Nieuwe Types Afstudeerprijs 2022 with her graduation work Je zal mijn ouders nooit ontmoeten, a queer novella.

Karin Karakaşlı

Karin Karakaşlı, born in 1972 in Istanbul, holds a degree in Translation and Interpretation. Formerly a senior editor and columnist for the Turkish-Armenian newspaper Agos, she now teaches translation and Armenian language and literature, writes fiction and poetry, and contributes columns to Agos and Radikal. Her books include children's novels, short story collections, poetry volumes, and a research book on Armenians in Turkey.

Lütfiye Güzel

Lütfiye Güzel is a poet who has been publishing notes, novellas, poems, and monologues under her own label, go-güzel-publishing, since 2014. She conducts poetry workshops in schools and museums and won the Ruhr Literature Prize in 2017.

Gonca Özmen

Gonca Özmen (1982, Turkey) is a renowned Turkish poet known for her playful and critical poems on love and human relationships. Noticed young in Varlık, she published works like Kuytumda and Belki Sessiz, gaining international recognition.

Golringue Melanie Huchet photo by Haleh Chinikar

Golringue (Mélanie) Huchet

Born in Paris in 1977 and of Iranian descent, Golringue (Mélanie) Huchet graduated in contemporary art history from the Sorbonne. Living and working in Brussels, she is a culture journalist who has contributed to various magazines since 2013. Her stories were published in the 2020 poetry collection Equinoxes, by Isthar.