Symposium on Ahmet Ümit

A one-day symposium titled “Translating Ahmet Ümit into Foreign Languages” will be held on April 7 at Okan University’s Beyoğlu campus. The symposium will be attended by 11 translators from various countries. 

Well-known in Turkey as a detective writer, Ümit is also a respected representative of Turkish literature thanks to many of his novels that have been translated into many languages. 

Eleven translators, who have introduced Ümit’s novels to their languages, will come together with him in Istanbul. During the symposium, the translators will also discuss the works of Turkish writers translated into their languages. They will compare the fineness of Turkish with their own languages. 

Ümit, whose more than 60 novels have been translated into more than 20 languages, including Spanish, English, Russian, Chinese, German, Arabic and others, will join one of the events at the symposium and express his views on translation. 

On the same day, an exhibition, featuring book cover photos of Ümit’s novels in different languages as well as his photos with readers, will also be presented. The exhibition will be on display for one month at the university’s campus in Beyoğlu.

The symposium will start at 10 a.m. at the Ahmet Ümit Conference Hall and continue with three sessions titled “Translation Adventure of a Turkish Writer,” “The Map of Translator’s Soul and Geography” and “Istanbul Memory and Eastern Europe.” 

Among the translators to join the event are Rafael Carpintero Ortega (Spanish), Rakesh Jobanputra (English), Sabine Adatepe (German), Barbara La Rosa (Italian), Aneta Matovska (Macedonian), Elen Ivanova (Bulgarian), Nina Rajkovic (Croatian), Thanos Zarangalis (Greek) and Vesna Gazdic (Serbian).