Popular Turkish Love Lyrics and Folk Legends

Book excerpt: Popular Turkish Love Lyrics and Folk Legends is the first illustrated anthology of Turkish folk poetry and legends published in the United States. Talat Halman’s eloquent, fluid telling of these engaging stories and his translations of the love lyrics, accompanied by Zeki Findikoglu’s vibrant serigraphs, serve as a marvelous introduction to the rich world of Turkish folktales and lyrics. This volume brings together three of the most beloved of Anatolian tales and legends with the life stories and selected poems of four great folk poets—Yunus Emre, Pir Sultan Abdal, Köroglu, and Karacaoglan. The seven sections of the book come alive with images of striking beauty and dramatic power by Findikoglu, a son of Anatolia. Each section features four “visual experiences”—extraordinary in their delineation of nature and human figures, teeming with moods stirring or sinister. They capture not only the splendor of nature in Anatolia but also the quintessential spirit of the legends and the lyrics. Cultural and literary historians as well as poetry lovers will enjoy this stunning union of art and literature.