In the wake of the military’s badly botched putsch, as of July 21st Turkey finds itself once again living under a formal State of Emergency (SOE). This should not come as a big surprise to many citizens, because according to Dr. Zafer Üskül, a law professor and founding member of the Turkish Human Rights Organization, … Continue reading Coup d’état Fiction: A Curiously Turkish Genre
Category: Altaic Peoples & Tales (阿尔泰各民族及其故事)
“Le Dernier Quartier de Lune”: French version of Chi Zijian’s ode to the Evenki to launch in September
In September 2016, the French rendition of Chi Zijian’s 《额尔古纳河右岸》will join several previously published foreign language editions including Dutch (Het laatste kwartier van de maan); English (Last Quarter of the Moon); Italian (Ultimo quarto di Luna); Japanese (アルグン川の右岸) , and Spanish (A la orilla derecha del Río Argún). Le Dernier Quartier de Lune is co-translated … Continue reading “Le Dernier Quartier de Lune”: French version of Chi Zijian’s ode to the Evenki to launch in September
Sakharov Prize for Uyghur Intellectual Ilham Tohti?
In an open letter entitled Donnons le prix Sakharov à un intellectuel ouïghour published in the French newspaper Libération on July 14, 2016, three prominent French citizens propose awarding the Sakharov Prize to Ilham Tohti: Il est temps que l’opinion publique francophone s’empare de son cas : à force d’évoquer les méfaits de Daech, d’Isis ou de Boko Haram, … Continue reading Sakharov Prize for Uyghur Intellectual Ilham Tohti?
Elif Şafak on Writing in Today’s Turkey
[Hürriyet Daily News] Would it have been difficult for you to write this book if you were living permanently in Turkey? [Elif Şafak] Words are heavy in Turkey. Every journalist, every writer, every poet, every academic knows this. Because of words we can be sued overnight, put on trial, demonized in newspapers, attacked on social … Continue reading Elif Şafak on Writing in Today’s Turkey
Reclaiming the Evenki Narrative: Last Shaman’s Daughter Tells her People’s 20th-century Tale
There are only 30,000 or so Evenki (鄂温克族) on the Chinese side of the Sino-Russian border. But this Tungusic-speaking, reindeer-herding people — particularly the group known as the Aoluguya Evenki — has been the subject of several award-winning documentaries and even a novel that won the Mao Dun Literature Prize in 2008. According to an … Continue reading Reclaiming the Evenki Narrative: Last Shaman’s Daughter Tells her People’s 20th-century Tale
Altaic Storytelling: What We’re Reading Now (2016.4.12)
Just started 冬牧场 (lit, winter pasture) by Li Juan. In 2010, she was commissioned to live with a Kazakh family as they herded their camels, sheep and horses deep into the desert of southern Altay where they traditionally graze during the bitterly cold winter. Her job: To document the little known, semi-nomadic lifestyle of Xinjiang's Kazakh … Continue reading Altaic Storytelling: What We’re Reading Now (2016.4.12)
Jusup Mamay, Manaschi: A Rehabilitated Rightist and his Turkic Epic
A while back I stumbled upon a short Chinese news item about a newly discovered handwritten manuscript of the Kyrgyz Epic of Manas (玛纳斯史诗). This centuries-old trilogy in verse recounts the exploits of the legendary hero Manas, and his son and grandson in their struggle to resist external enemies and unite the Kyrgyz people. Along … Continue reading Jusup Mamay, Manaschi: A Rehabilitated Rightist and his Turkic Epic
Soft Power Strategy: Where Does China Figure in Turkey’s Literary Translation Program?
Over the last 11 years, Turkey has spent US$4.4m to fund translation and publication of fiction by Turkish authors via its TEDA grant program, according to Turkish Books, an article that appeared in the Hürriyet Daily on February 24, 2016. TEDA's own chart shows that just 24 titles appeared in Chinese as a result, compared … Continue reading Soft Power Strategy: Where Does China Figure in Turkey’s Literary Translation Program?
List: Modern China-based Evenki Authors & Their Published Works
* Under Construction * Modern China-based Evenki Authors & Their Published Works This list is based mainly on authors published in 2015 in 《新时期中国少数民族文学作品选集·鄂温克族卷》(lit, Selected Fiction by Ethnic Minority Writers in the New Period, Evenki Volume, at left), but I've added in many of their other published short stories and novels. All links are to … Continue reading List: Modern China-based Evenki Authors & Their Published Works
Mapping Mongolian Music
In 蒙古音乐地图计划：如何面对外界错位的蒙古文化想象？Thepaper.cn reports on a young Chinese citizen of Mongolian heritage, Odon Tuya (敖登托雅) who has initiated her own “Mongolian Music Map Project” (蒙古音乐地图计划). Her aim: To document the current indie Mongolian music scene – including traditional musicians in places like Xinjiang – via published interviews and, eventually, to capture it on film. A writer … Continue reading Mapping Mongolian Music
Ethnic ChinaLit 