Jorge Luis Borges in Turkish: Magical Realism in a Politically-and-Poetically Motivated Literary Field

Abstract

This article traces the multiple encounters of Jorge Luis Borges with Turkish readers in light of the publishing policies and social dynamics surrounding the region in the second half of the twentieth century. Although the first translation of his work into Turkish appeared as early as 1955, Borges became popular in Turkey during the 1980s, concurrently with many other Latin American authors, some of whom were participants in the magical realist literary stream. The article mainly investigates the positions of the Turkish translations of Borges and other Latin American writers within the 1980s literary repertoire that reflects the state of cultural production following the Turkish coup d’état in 1980. The revival of the fantastic genre by local writers during the same time period also illuminates the topic of Latin American magical realism in Turkish. Therefore, this article examines the activities of literary agents, namely the translators, editors, and critics, who acted as representatives of Borges and other Latin American authors in Turkey, in addition to mentioning the local representatives of magical realism. In order to present a holistic view, before embarking on this 1980s literary network, the study explores the initial translation of Borges into Turkish, published in a literary review in the 1950s, which seems to suggest an alternative context for the writer that carries traces of the golden age of the short story in Turkey. It concludes with a discussion of the state of Borges and Latin American literature in Turkish after the 1980s, with references to published translations and articles by local critics that delved into these particular subjects.