Turkey Talks Back - 07-02-2007
Debate
De Gids, the oldest literary magazine in the Low Countries, recently published a special issue on Turkey. It has also been translated into Turkish. After all, if we want a dialogue between cultures, it has to start by breaking down the language barrier. But making our views known is not all there is to it.
That is why this evening has been organised in connection with the publication of this Turkish edition of De Gids to enable the authors to debate with readers from Turkey and from the Turkish community in the Netherlands. How do the latter react, not only to the opinions about them that are aired in De Gids, but also to the tone of the articles? In other words, are there differences of opinion that might stand in the way of contact between Europe and Turkey, or is there a much more fundamental difference of register, paradigm and culture?
Three of the hot topics covered in De Gids have been selected for discussion: literature as an expression of national sentiment; the relations between men and women; and the position of minorities in the European/Christian and Turkish/Muslim world. The speakers include Mehmet Emin Yildirim (lecturer in Turkish language and literature, Leiden University), Roni Margulies (poet, writer, translator), Nazmiye Oral (actress, scriptwriter and columnist De Volkskrant), Stine Jensen (philosopher, author of Turkse Vlinders [Turkish Butterflies] about love between members of different cultures), Cengiz Candar (journalist, former war correspondent and columnist Daily Bugün) and Joost Lagendijk (chairperson of the European Parliament Turkey delegation). They will engage in debate with one another in three short sessions of two speakers each, followed by an opportunity for the floor to speak about whether the Bosporus should be a bridge or should remain a barrier between Europe and Asia Minor. Paul van der Gaag (VPRO) will moderate the debate. Intermezzo by Baro Cengiz (writer and musician).
English will be spoken at the debate.
This debate organized in collaboration with De Gids and Post Amsterdam.
