Mediterranean Topographies Workshop/ Conversations on Europe. "Writing from a Mediterranean Island."

"Writing from a Mediterranean Island: In-Between Languages and Literary Spaces"

Mehmet Yashin, poet and author. Part of LSA Theme Semester, "Language: the Human Quintessence." Co-sponsored by the Mediterranean Topographies Workshop, Rackham Graduate School, Institute for the Humanities, Departments of History of Art, History, Linguistics, Comparative Literature, Romance Languages and Literatures, Modern Greek Studies, CMENAS, CES.

Mehmet Yashin (Yasin) is one of the best-known contemporary poets and authors from Cyprus. The different voice and sensibility that he brings to Turkish poetry is based on his hybrid literary sources, combining the Turkish, Greek and Levantine cultures of the Mediterranean, creating a dramatic and narrative lyricism, using Turkish in his writing by reference to historically and geographically variant forms of the language, as well as his poetic themes which give importance to personal experiences. Mehmet Yashin who has just completed the writing of two books dealing with the Mediterranean. The first is to be published in French, La recontre de Sapho et Rumi (2012). The second book is a novel/memoir/travel writing/album titled Kehribar set in the Levant 1906-1966 and 2007.

Mediterranean Topographies (meditopos) is an interdisciplinary Rackham graduate student/faculty workshop which has operated since 2009. Dedicated to an interdisciplinary and trans-historical approach to the Mediterranean, the group meets bi-weekly to discuss works on topics related to the Mediterranean and hosts speakers and discussants from U-M and beyond.