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Nurduran Duman is a Turkish poet and editor born in Çanakkale and lives in Istanbul. She wrote her first poem when she was 8 years old. When she was nine years old, she promised herself that in the future she would be a writer. She liked poetry, so she became a poet. Pursuing her passion for the sea, she attended Istanbul Technical University receiving her degree as an Ocean Engineer and a Naval Architect.
Her collection of poetry Yenilgi Oyunu (The Defeat Game) was awarded the 2005 Cemal Süreya Poetry Award. This award commemorates Cemal Süreya (1931-1990), one of the most important poets in Turkish Literature. In 2010 Duman published a book of narrative prose, İstanbul′la Bakışmak, Salacak (Exchanging Glances With Istanbul, Salacak). Her second collection of poetry Mi Bemol (Mi Bemol) was published in 2012.
Duman also actively translated literature into Turkish. She translated Alma Alexander’s book The Secret of Jin-shei, published in Turkey in 2007. Her poems, translations (poems and stories), poetic articles, book reviews and interviews with foreign writers (e.g. Eileen Gunn, Karen Joy Fowler, Yiyun Li, Anna Tambour, Monica Arac de Nyeko, etc.) have been published in numerous magazines and newspapers. She has also translated the poems of Anne Sexton, Sara Teasdale, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and Slyvia Plath.
Duman was elected as a board member of Writers Syndicate of Turkey and is an active member of Turkish PEN. She presented the literature programme ‘Yazın Küresi – Sphere of Literature’ and the children literature programme ‘Kitap Hazinesi – Treasure of the Book’ for radio and television. She has also been involved in many theatre activities as an actress, director, and theater electrician throughout her career. She attends numerous national and international events in a capacity of a poetess, writer and translator. Her article about the relationship between the world peace and literature translation “Translation of Literature Means Peace” was originally written in English and appeared in the Finnish magazine Kaltio translated into Finnish by Paavo J. Heinonen.
Her poems have been translated and published into English, Finnish, Serbian, Bulgarian and Slovak. Recently, Duman was featured in the American art-literature magazine BRN with an interview conducted by Victor Hernandez Cruz, poet and Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets. Her poem “The Lily Necked Girl” (Zambak Boyunlu Kız, translated by Scottish poet Tom Pow) was published in the magazine Gallerie (issue 28) in India. Her poem "Semi Circle" (Yarım Çember, translated by poet Andrew Wessels) was published in Colorado Review (Spring 2012) in the US. Her other poems "Weave of Colors," "Voiceword," "At That Moment," "My Letter is an Olive Branch" (Renklerin Örgüsü, Sessöz, O An, Mektubum Zeytin Dalı, translated by poet Andrew Wessels) were published both in Turkish and in English in Interim (Spring 2013, in Las Vegas) in the US. Her poems "City Steps," "Pour Yourself from the Cup," "Butterfly" (Bir Kentin Adımları, Bardaktan Boşan, Kelebek) were published in the journal of California College of the Arts Eleven Eleven (Summer 2013, in San Francisco). BRN (New York) published her recent poems in its Fall 2013 issue. Her poem "Lord" (Ağan, translated by Andrew Wessels) was published in Faultline in USA in Summer 2015. Semi Circle, a chapbook of translations of the poet was published from Goodmorning Menagerie in USA in January 2016.
Nurduran Duman joined in Edinburgh International Book Festival as an invited editor in August 2014 and August 2015. She was the curator of the foreign poets in the 18th İskele-KİBATEK International Poetry Festival. She is one of the invited poets in the UNESCO European Literature Night held in Edinburgh on May 13 and in the EUNIC European Poetry Night held in London on May 14, 2016. She is a recipient of the Turkish Cultural Foundation 2016 Cultural Exchange Fellowship. Duman currently works as the literary editor of the art and culture magazine Artful Living, (www.artfulliving.com.tr) as well as the workshop coordinator of DAM (www.damdayiz.com).
Book Publications:
Yenilgi Oyunu (The Defeat Game). Poetry, Istanbul: Komşu Publishing, Yasakmeyve Books, 2006.
İstanbul’la Bakışmak, Salacak (Exchanging Glances With Istanbul, Salacak). Prose, Istanbul: Heyamola Publishing, 2010.
Mi Bemol (Mi Bemol). Poetry, Istanbul: Noktürn Publishing, 2012.
Translations of her works:
Semi Circle, a chapbook of translations of the poet was published from Goodmorning Menagerie in USA in January 2016.
Book Translations:
Jin-shei Kız Kardeşlik Sırları (The Secret of Jin-shei) Writer: Alma Alexander, Istanbul: Literatür Publishing, 2006.
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