Research Article

Rewriting Taste in Translation: The Cultural Politics of Tercüme’s Anglophone Poetry

Number: 20 June 30, 2026
TR EN

Rewriting Taste in Translation: The Cultural Politics of Tercüme’s Anglophone Poetry

Abstract

The present article examines the manner in which the mid-century translation magazine Tercüme contributed to the “rewriting of taste” in Turkish poetry through its curation, framing, and naturalisation of an Anglophone canon by means of translation. In this study, a comprehensive compilation of English poems translated into Turkish in Tercüme, accompanied by a parallel corpus and catalogue, was meticulously constructed. The following data were collated for each poem: poet, movement, translator, issue/date, paratext, and basic prosodic features. The subsequent phase of the analysis entailed the amalgamation of the descriptive statistics. The study demonstrates that editorial choices and a small cohort of highly central translators privileged a limited segment of the Anglophone tradition, while paratexts directed interpretation towards themes and styles that were nationally legible. The analysis of movement and chronology patterns indicates a preference for more assimilable idioms, with modernist edges moderated by explanatory framing and domestication strategies. It is suggested that the magazine’s selections underscore the role of translation periodicals as gatekeeping institutions in the literary field. The article proposes an approach to the study of translation that posits it not merely as a linguistic phenomenon, but as a cultural policy enacted through periodical publishing. This method enables the linkage of corpus evidence to the formation of the canon, thereby providing a historically grounded account of the shaping of imported poetic traditions for Turkish readerships.

Keywords

Ethical Statement

Since this study did not require approval from an ethics committee, it was conducted without such approval.

References

  1. Aksoy, N. B. (2010). The Relation Between Translation and Ideology as an Instrument for the Establishment of a National Literature, In Meta: Journal des traducteurs Translators’ Journal, 55 (3). 438-455.
  2. Brooke, R. (1941). Ölüler [The Dead] (B. S. Boran, Trans.). Tercüme, 10, 318-319.
  3. Brooke, R. (1941). Cennet [Heaven]. (B. S. Boran, Trans.). Tercüme, 10, 320-323.
  4. Browning, R. (1944). Son Düşesim [My Last Duchess] (T. S. Erem, Trans.). Tercüme, 27, 176-179.
  5. Byron, L. (1955). Yunanistan [Greece] (S. R., Trans.). Tercüme, 31-32, 84-85.
  6. Eliot, T. S.. (1960). J. Alfred Prufrock’tan Aşk Türküsü [The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock] (C. Yücel, Trans.). Tercüme, 60, 66-77.
  7. Even-Zohar, I. (1990). The Position of Translated Literature within the Literary Polysystem. In Polysystem Studies [Poetics Today, 11 (1), 45-51]. Duke University Press.
  8. Genette, G. (1997). Paratexts: Thresholds of Interpretation (J. E. Lewin, Trans.). Cambridge University Press.

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Comparative and Transnational Literature

Journal Section

Research Article

Publication Date

June 30, 2026

Submission Date

October 3, 2025

Acceptance Date

March 5, 2026

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Number: 20

APA
Alpaslan, N. (2026). Rewriting Taste in Translation: The Cultural Politics of Tercüme’s Anglophone Poetry. Artuklu Humanities, 20, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.46628/ahu.1796531
AMA
1.Alpaslan N. Rewriting Taste in Translation: The Cultural Politics of Tercüme’s Anglophone Poetry. Artuklu Humanities. 2026;(20):1-11. doi:10.46628/ahu.1796531
Chicago
Alpaslan, Nimet. 2026. “Rewriting Taste in Translation: The Cultural Politics of Tercüme’s Anglophone Poetry”. Artuklu Humanities, nos. 20: 1-11. https://doi.org/10.46628/ahu.1796531.
EndNote
Alpaslan N (June 1, 2026) Rewriting Taste in Translation: The Cultural Politics of Tercüme’s Anglophone Poetry. Artuklu Humanities 20 1–11.
IEEE
[1]N. Alpaslan, “Rewriting Taste in Translation: The Cultural Politics of Tercüme’s Anglophone Poetry”, Artuklu Humanities, no. 20, pp. 1–11, June 2026, doi: 10.46628/ahu.1796531.
ISNAD
Alpaslan, Nimet. “Rewriting Taste in Translation: The Cultural Politics of Tercüme’s Anglophone Poetry”. Artuklu Humanities. 20 (June 1, 2026): 1-11. https://doi.org/10.46628/ahu.1796531.
JAMA
1.Alpaslan N. Rewriting Taste in Translation: The Cultural Politics of Tercüme’s Anglophone Poetry. Artuklu Humanities. 2026;:1–11.
MLA
Alpaslan, Nimet. “Rewriting Taste in Translation: The Cultural Politics of Tercüme’s Anglophone Poetry”. Artuklu Humanities, no. 20, June 2026, pp. 1-11, doi:10.46628/ahu.1796531.
Vancouver
1.Nimet Alpaslan. Rewriting Taste in Translation: The Cultural Politics of Tercüme’s Anglophone Poetry. Artuklu Humanities. 2026 Jun. 1;(20):1-11. doi:10.46628/ahu.1796531