Censorship of “obscene” literary translations
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İrem Üstünsöz
Abstract
This article analyses the practice of literary censorship and court proceedings on grounds of obscenity in Turkey within the framework of two case studies: the Turkish translation of Pierre Louÿs’ Aphrodite: moeurs antiques (1896) and that (in 1985) of Henry Miller’s Tropic of Capricorn (1939). Both cases, with a time gap of almost half a century, demonstrate different details in the implementation of censorship and how they provoked reaction. The analysis makes it clear that the historical, ideological and political backdrop to each case had implications in terms of how translation was approached at different times in Turkish intellectual history in line with the function it was supposed to assume and how this bore upon the outcome of the censorship cases.
Abstract
This article analyses the practice of literary censorship and court proceedings on grounds of obscenity in Turkey within the framework of two case studies: the Turkish translation of Pierre Louÿs’ Aphrodite: moeurs antiques (1896) and that (in 1985) of Henry Miller’s Tropic of Capricorn (1939). Both cases, with a time gap of almost half a century, demonstrate different details in the implementation of censorship and how they provoked reaction. The analysis makes it clear that the historical, ideological and political backdrop to each case had implications in terms of how translation was approached at different times in Turkish intellectual history in line with the function it was supposed to assume and how this bore upon the outcome of the censorship cases.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- In memoriam Elif Daldeniz Baysan xi
- Acknowledgements xiii
- Introduction 1
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Ottoman conceptions and practices of translation
- On the poetic practices of a “singularly uninventive people” and the anxiety of imitation 27
- Exploring Tercüman as a culture-bound concept in Islamic mysticism 53
- Ahmet Midhat’s Hulâsa-i Hümâyunnâme 73
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Transition and transformation
- On the evolution of the interpreting profession in Turkey 89
- Saved by translation 107
- The “official” view on translation in Turkey 125
- Translation, imported western legal frameworks and insights from the Turkish world of patents 145
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The republican revolutionary turn
- The Turkish language reform and intralingual translation 165
- John Dewey’s 1924 report on Turkish education 181
- Pseudotranslations of pseudo-scientific sex manuals in Turkey 199
- Censorship of “obscene” literary translations 219
- Ideological encounters 233
- An overview of Kurdish literature in Turkish 253
- The identity metonymics of translated Turkish fiction in English 273
- Notes on contributors 297
- Index 303
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- In memoriam Elif Daldeniz Baysan xi
- Acknowledgements xiii
- Introduction 1
-
Ottoman conceptions and practices of translation
- On the poetic practices of a “singularly uninventive people” and the anxiety of imitation 27
- Exploring Tercüman as a culture-bound concept in Islamic mysticism 53
- Ahmet Midhat’s Hulâsa-i Hümâyunnâme 73
-
Transition and transformation
- On the evolution of the interpreting profession in Turkey 89
- Saved by translation 107
- The “official” view on translation in Turkey 125
- Translation, imported western legal frameworks and insights from the Turkish world of patents 145
-
The republican revolutionary turn
- The Turkish language reform and intralingual translation 165
- John Dewey’s 1924 report on Turkish education 181
- Pseudotranslations of pseudo-scientific sex manuals in Turkey 199
- Censorship of “obscene” literary translations 219
- Ideological encounters 233
- An overview of Kurdish literature in Turkish 253
- The identity metonymics of translated Turkish fiction in English 273
- Notes on contributors 297
- Index 303
