Cities of Stardust, Cities of Blood

The ancient and rich histories of London, Venice and İstanbul have been inducing countless authors to produce works related to these cities. During my exploration of the literary production around these three cities, I came to realise that only richly lived experiences allow authors to give full expression to their poetic sensitivity. It would not be too far-fetched to claim that the literary mapping of their beloved cities through a daily immersion into the cities’ multifarious lives is also a mapping of their own selves. My literal as well as literary journeys to London, Venice and İstanbul allowed me to understand the perpetual interplay between these iconic cities and authors, and why the distinguished authors selected for this book portray these cities as anthropomorphic figures functioning as major characters in their works.

The city has been a rich source of inspiration for authors throughout centuries. My intention in writing this book is to present readers with a fresh new perspective focusing on the cityscape and its aesthetic and conceptual ramifications in literary productions. Hence, this book engages in the intertwined relations between the city and authors/poets, their characters and works. To this end, I selected three cities—London, Venice, and İstanbul—to be discussed in three separate chapters. Each of these chapters is divided into three subsections wherein each city is explored through the works of three distinguished authors/poets of different nationalities. For instance, London as the urban landscape is presented through the works of the two English poets, William Blake and William Wordsworth, and a French poet, Arthur Rimbaud. I was particularly attentive to providing readers with diverse movements and genres while structuring the chapters. Following the Introduction, the first chapter explores London through a lyric by Blake, a sonnet by Wordsworth, and a prose poem by Rimbaud, organized into three subsections. The second chapter also consists of three works and three subsections on Venice – the first one being a postmodern surrealist novel by the Italian author, Italo Calvino, the second one–a narrative poem by the English poet, Lord Byron, and the last work is a travel sketch by the American modernist author, Henry James. The last chapter is devoted to İstanbul as presented in the works of three Turkish authors. While the first and third subsections introduce two İstanbul poems by Yahya Kemal Beyatlı and by Orhan Veli Kanık, the second subsection engages in Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar’s essay recounting life in İstanbul before and around the early twentieth century. All the chapters and the subsections have an introduction, a conclusion and a discussion comparing the authors’ shared views of the city at issue. The conclusion offers a final comparison of the selected authors’ diverse impressions and treatments of the cityscape. I hope those who would like to do research and write on the cityscape will find the book inspiring for their future studies.

I would like to extend my sincerest gratitude to all my colleagues in the Department of English Language and Literature at Atılım University for their kind support in the writing of this book. I would like to especially thank Professor Oya Batum Menteşe, and our department chair, Professor Nüket Belgin Elbir, for their mentorship and encouragement throughout my academic career. Also, I am deeply indebted to Professor Nüket Belgin Elbir, Professor Aslı Özlem Tarakcioglu, and Dr. Duru Güngör for patiently and meticulously reviewing the manuscript, while I also would like to thank Dr. Zeynep Rana Turgut for her invaluable assistance in research and formatting as well as her steadfast friendship. Sıla Yönden Bağrıyanık, a PhD candidate in our department and my student, was immensely helpful with the formatting of the manuscript, while Esra Bahşi, Senior Commissioning Editor of Peter Lang GmbH, and Sanandita Chanda and Marta Podvolotskaya, my editors, offered their generous support and guidance whenever needed. This work would not have been possible without the boundless affection of my parents, Sabiha and Uğurtan, and my beloved sisters, Ahu and Duru. Finally, I will always remain grateful to my dear spouse, Ahmet, our son Yağız, and our daughter in-law, Yaprak, for their unfaltering affection and care.