We had a great response to the Ko Un brush paintings we posted here last week, so here's another goodie from our translation files. Whenver possible, our translations include a handwritten poem by the author which we scan and print in the books. Today's handwritten poem is by Turkish poet Ece Temelkuran from her collection Book of the Edge. In addition to being a world-class poet, Temelkuran is an award-winning journalist for one of Turkey's most popular newspapers. You can read all about her at her website: Ece Temelkuran. [caption id="attachment_1008" align="aligncenter" width="199" caption="Ece Temelkuran. BOA poet."][/caption] Book of the Edge was translated by a dynamic young translator named Deniz Perin. Here's a little from Deniz's Introduction to the book: “The poems in Book of the Edge are not overtly political. Some are not political at all. Those that make political statements do so in an understated, allegorical way. Temelkuran’s goal in these poems is to explore the human condition, exposing our weaknesses and our potential. But her insight into, and interpretation of, this human condition are undoubtedly inspired, at least in part, by her socially-involved upbringing and her many years of work as a journalist.     "The book is, to use Baudelaire’s words, an invitation to a voyage. The speaker asks the reader to become an explorer, to leave the city and embark upon a journey of self-discovery. Although each poem stands alone, the poems work together to describe this quest; they turn into a modern, poetic fable, in which speaker, explorer, and reader merge into one. ‘You may not know it yet,’ says the speaker in the prologue, a wink at what is to come. ‘You are just like me.’” And, finally, we come to Ece Temelkurans' handwritten poem. When all is said and done, is there anything in literature more intimate than a handwritten poem? [caption id="attachment_1007" align="aligncenter" width="718" caption="Handwritten poem by Ece Temelkuran"][/caption]