Also available (published in 2024): First Light, by Zafer Şenocak
Translated from Turkish by Kristin Dickinson
 
From now until Dec. 15, 2024: Buy a copy of Zafer Şenocak's new book, First Light, and we'll send you a copy of Door Languages for free!
 
From Door Languages I
 
Doors don't say much to those who disclose nothing
once the inhabitants of a city that no longer exists
introduced a door language
Closed
Open
Left ajar
With or without latch
Locked
Pick-locked
in different colors
each door had its own meaning
that was long ago

today it doesn't rest so much on the door
but on the keys
on the one whose hand holds the keys
at the moment of arrival

who can find the patience to learn a new door language
there are more languages than people
the keys are in the pocket
the code in the mind

if necessary the door is kicked open
___________________________________________
 
The Turkish-German writer Zafer Şenocak has been described by the German newspaper Die Welt as “the most important literary voice of German multiculturalism.” A widely published poet, essayist, journalist, editor, and novelist, he has become a leading figure in German discussions of national and cultural identity.
 
Door Languages is the first collection of his poems to appear in English, culled from four of his books published in German. The poems draw from both rational and mystical elements in Senocak’s childhood environment in Turkey, but also boldly draw from German culture as he questions and examines the boundaries of East and West.
 
Born in Ankara in 1961, Zafer Şenocak moved to Munich with his parents in 1970 where he studied political science, philosophy, and literature. He started publishing books of poetry and essays in the 1980s in Munich winning the Adelbert von Chamisso Award, a literary prize given in Germany for foreigners writing in German. In addition to poetry and fiction, he has a substantial body of work as an essayist of political and social criticism, largely stemming from his years as a contributor to the Berlin alternative daily newspaper die tagezeitung.
 
Elizabeth Oehlkers Wright's translations of contemporary German poets have appeared in various journals and anthologies. She has received a number of honors, including an NEA fellowship to translate the work of Zafer Şenocak. She served as the German-language contributing editor for the 2008 Graywolf anthology New European Poets and with Franz Wright co-translated the book Factory of Tears by Valzhyna Mort.
 
In July 2024, Zephyr published Şenocak's first book of poetry translated from Turkish, the language of his childhood and one he has increasingly returned to in the 21st century. Read more about Şenocak and his new book, First Light, here.