What do you think?
Rate this book
Door Languages
Born in Ankara in 1961, Zafer Senocak has lived in Germany since 1970. Over the years, he has become a leading voice in the German discussions on multiculturalism and national identity. His volume of essays Atlas of the Tropical Germany is currently included on the American Association of University Professors list of books to further our understanding of issues surrounding 9/11. Between 1996 and 2000, Senocak was writer-in-residence at four US universities and was a featured author at the 2007 PEN World Festival in New York City. Door Languages contains material from four of Senocak’s recent German collections. “His Story” when there were no secret parts
writing was devised on a woman’s body
no part left undescribed
men and their dirty fingers
mixed up one character with the other
until the letters couldn’t be read
they had never gotten around to reading
they became doubters of script
looking for the lost language
burned all books short of their own body
out of the ashes fashioned their dream dame
veiled it deep black
are illiterates still
Elizabeth Oehlkers Wright ’s translations of contemporary German poets have been featured in numerous journals. She was the winner of Agni ’s William J. Arrowsmith Translation Award, and she has received fellowships from the NEA, the American Literary Translators Association, and the University of Arkansas Fulbright College. A selection of her translations of Zafer Senocak appeared in the PIP Anthology of World Literature of the 20th Century (Green Integer) and in the 2007 Zoland Poetry annual.
writing was devised on a woman’s body
no part left undescribed
men and their dirty fingers
mixed up one character with the other
until the letters couldn’t be read
they had never gotten around to reading
they became doubters of script
looking for the lost language
burned all books short of their own body
out of the ashes fashioned their dream dame
veiled it deep black
are illiterates still
Elizabeth Oehlkers Wright ’s translations of contemporary German poets have been featured in numerous journals. She was the winner of Agni ’s William J. Arrowsmith Translation Award, and she has received fellowships from the NEA, the American Literary Translators Association, and the University of Arkansas Fulbright College. A selection of her translations of Zafer Senocak appeared in the PIP Anthology of World Literature of the 20th Century (Green Integer) and in the 2007 Zoland Poetry annual.
- GenresPoetry
144 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2008
9 people want to read
About the author
Zafer Şenocak
30 books2 followers 1961 yılında Ankara'da doğdu. 1970 yılından beri Almanya'da, şu sıralarda Berlin'de yaşıyor. Münih Üniversitesi'nde edebiyat, siyasi ilimler ve felsefe okudu.
Almanca olarak altı şiir kitabı ve iki de deneme kitabı yayınlandı.Türk edebiyatından çeviriler yaptı. Bu çevirilerden Yunus Emre'den seçilmiş şiirler kitap halinde yayınlandı. Deniz Göktürk ile birlikte çağdaş Türk edebiyatını tanıtan Almanca bir antoloji yayınladı.Türkiye'deki kültürel tartışmaları içine alan ve çağdaş Türk kültürünün çeşitli boyutlarını Alman okuruna tanıtan, Türk bilim adamı ve yazarların denemelerinden oluşan bir kitap yayınlandı.
Ayrıca, 1988'den beri yayınlanmakta olan çok dilli Sirene dergisinin editörüdür. Kendisine Münih ve Berlin kentinden çeşitli edebiyat ödülleri ve burslar verildi. Zafer Şenocak, Alman gazete ve radyolarında şiir, yazı, deneme ve yorumlarıyla yer almaktadır.
Almanca olarak altı şiir kitabı ve iki de deneme kitabı yayınlandı.Türk edebiyatından çeviriler yaptı. Bu çevirilerden Yunus Emre'den seçilmiş şiirler kitap halinde yayınlandı. Deniz Göktürk ile birlikte çağdaş Türk edebiyatını tanıtan Almanca bir antoloji yayınladı.Türkiye'deki kültürel tartışmaları içine alan ve çağdaş Türk kültürünün çeşitli boyutlarını Alman okuruna tanıtan, Türk bilim adamı ve yazarların denemelerinden oluşan bir kitap yayınlandı.
Ayrıca, 1988'den beri yayınlanmakta olan çok dilli Sirene dergisinin editörüdür. Kendisine Münih ve Berlin kentinden çeşitli edebiyat ödülleri ve burslar verildi. Zafer Şenocak, Alman gazete ve radyolarında şiir, yazı, deneme ve yorumlarıyla yer almaktadır.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 27, 2025
I'm very pleasantly surprised at the quality of translation (it's superb.) I like the variety of themes between the poems (feelings concerning immigration, sense of self, missing someone). I got bored of the format again (mostly all-lowercase and left-aligned) but that shouldn't surprise anyone by now.
"I had a stronger brother
he was much younger than I
he died for me
now I lead his life"
"we keep dreaming
even when it scares us"
"I'm surprised by my lack of pain
no more place for feelings
and no feeling for a place
where a house sits and people walk
only your eyes I remember a little
were they blue or was that the notebook
which I've lost forever
filled up with marks since faded"
"I had a stronger brother
he was much younger than I
he died for me
now I lead his life"
"we keep dreaming
even when it scares us"
"I'm surprised by my lack of pain
no more place for feelings
and no feeling for a place
where a house sits and people walk
only your eyes I remember a little
were they blue or was that the notebook
which I've lost forever
filled up with marks since faded"
October 9, 2011
I don't think I make a good critic of poetry, as I really don't know much about poetry in general and I have had limited exposure over the years. I'm trying to read more poetry. I picked up this bilingual (German - Turkish) edition from the Brooklyn Book Festival at the publisher's booth. Senocak sounds like how I sometimes sound in my head (not in terms of poetry mastery, but conceptually.) The poems are a range from brief and fleeting gems to long journeys through many themes and images. I like having the German, because at times I could go back to the original and understand more fully what was being said. The translation seems much better than most translations, though my German is limited, so I am not a great judge of that, either.
With so little of Turkish poetry translated into other languages (Turks are mostly to blame for this; for not reading much, for not reading much of our own literature in the first place, poetry least of all...) this is a welcome translation of a German-Turk dwelling on immigration and self, among other themes.
With so little of Turkish poetry translated into other languages (Turks are mostly to blame for this; for not reading much, for not reading much of our own literature in the first place, poetry least of all...) this is a welcome translation of a German-Turk dwelling on immigration and self, among other themes.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews