Vocational School of Justice
‘Translation requires creativity’
Works of writers and poets, shaping the Turkish literature lately, are being translated into English. Nilgün Dungan, Lecturer at Department of Translation and Interpretation, Faculty of Arts and Science, Izmir University of Economics, has translated works of many valuable writers and poets such as Hasan Ali Toptaş, Ataol Behramoğlu, Murathan Mungan, Murat Gülsoy, Behçet Çelik, Ahmet Büke, Saba Altınsay, Gül İrepoğlu, Sezer Ayvaz, Mine Söğüt, Müge İplikçi, Behçet Necatigil, Gülten Akın, and Haydar Ergülen, and contributed to publicity of these literary works in English.
Dungan stated that the richness of Turkish vocabulary, words and meanings, comes into view once again in translations. “I am able to convey the richness of our language into another language through translation, and share this richness with my students in literary translation course. My first experience with literary translation started in 2007 with an invitation to Cunda International Workshop for Translators of Turkish Literature (TEÇCA). I get a chance to pass on knowledge and experience I acquire during translation to my students in class,” said Dungan.
‘Bag of solutions’
Stating that the times she is involved in translation are the ‘sweetest’ times of her day, when she witnesses the uniqueness of the language, Dungan says, “You are never out of solutions when you are translating. Your creativity improves when picking from a bag of solutions. I am able to exemplify theoretical subjects this way in my class.” Dungan indicated that it made her happy to translate the multi structure of Turkish literature into another language, and her final work was the translation of the poems of Haydar Ergülen into English. Dungan reported that the ‘Pomegranate Garden’ titled poem book was translated by 13 translators, edited by Saliha Paker, Mel Kenne, and Caroline Stockford, and published by Parthian Books.
Stories/novels/ chapters translated by Lecturer Nilgün Dungan up until now:
- Hasan Ali Toptaş, “Balkon” (The Balcony)
- Murat Gülsoy, İstanbul’da Bir Merhamet Haftası
- Behçet Çelik, “Ayakkabı Kutusu”
- Barış Bıçakçı, Bir Süre Yere Paralel Gittikten Sonra
- Ahmet Büke, “Şimdi Ölmüyorum”, “Sarı Rüya Defteri”
- Saba Altınsay, “Merhamet, Sevgi, Masumiyet… Ve İşte Öylesine”
- Gül İrepoğlu, “Ağaç”
- Sezer Ayvaz, “Çağrılmadan Gelen”
- Mine Söğüt, “Beni Öldürmek İsteyen Muhteşem Hayat”, “Vakvak Ağacı”
- Müge İplikçi, Kafdağı (Mount Kaf), Civan
- Poems by Ataol Behramoğlu, Murathan Mungan, Behçet Necatigil, Gülten Akın, and Haydar Ergülen in selected anthologies