An Academy for International Students Fond of Literature: Her Boydan Authorship Academy

Gathering international students fond of literature around the idea of publishing a journal based on the motto of ‘think, dream, and write in Turkish’, Her Boydan Authorship Academy has paved the way for young international students aspiring to be writers to make an indelible impression in the Turkish language.

Another Authorship academy has been rolled out by the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities under the motto ‘think, dream, and write in Turkish’. In addition to the writing academies previously organized in Strasbourg, Skopje, Istanbul and Kahramanmaraş for Turkish nationals, kin, and related communities, YTB also rolled out writing academies for international students within the body of Her Boydan Authorship Academy organized in Istanbul on February 24 to 27. In addition to the journals named Telve and Bağlar, which are currently released as envoys of Turkish literature across the diaspora and the Balkans as an output of the previously-held writing academies, Her Boydan Authorship Academy is poised to eventually release the journal Her Boydan, with the target audience being international students.

Attended by 50 young writers-to-be from 32 countries, Her Boydan Authorship Academy was held in Istanbul on February 24 to 27, and hosted by Maltepe University. The volunteering young writers-to-be, who were provided with courses by major poets, writers, and academics out of Türkiye for 4 days, were awarded a certificate as part of a closing ceremony joined by YTB Vice President Abdulhadi Turus and President of Maltepe University Edibe Sözen.

On day one of the four-day academy, the participants were provided with a course by academic Mustafa Kurt over “Why Great Texts Are Great?” Following a discussion over the criteria that a text must meet to be taken seriously in literature, Turkish literature was introduced to the participants through a course titled ‘Why did Turks Tell Stories Ranging From Stories of Dede Korkut to that of Sait Faik?’ Mustafa Kurt then went on to inform them of the course of events, covering Dede Korkut and Sait Faik as Turkish story tellers. It was followed by the final course of the day titled ‘Taking Ideas on a Tour in Your Mind in Turkish’ and delivered by Melek Paşalı for the international students fond of literature to offer insight into and exchange views over what thinking and writing in Turkish means and the ways of doing so.

On day two, which began with courses on the historical, cultural, and literary importance of Turkish language lectured by author Celal Fedai, a course on the author's narrative methods was lectured by author Mehmet Kahraman. On the occasion of the courses, the students explored the literary and cultural diversity of Turkish, as well as the author's narrative methods and how they are incorporated into a text. As part of the course titled "Why Did Turks Sing Poetry, from Yunus Emre to the Present?", which was concerned with the journey of Turkish poetry at the academy, how poetry became intrinsic to the Turkish emotional and intellectual world and how it grew into a mainstay of Turkish mind was analyzed under the leadership of author Mustafa Baki Efe.

On day three, which began with a course by author Abdurrahim Karadeniz on the boundaries and forms of literary genres, a course was provided by author Yasemin Karahüseyin titled “Why Did Turks Write Novels from Namık Kemal to Kemal Tahir?” The course described why and how the novel genre penetrated into Turkish literature and how the novel was influenced by the socio -economic and political circumstances in Türkiye. The academy participants, who were taught a course by author Ali Ural titled “Basic Principles of Writing”, then took part in a guided Bosphorus tour. The participants had a chance to sightsee the historical and natural wonders of Istanbul and find out about the architectural monuments that influenced the cultural life of the city.

The final day of the academy was kicked off with presentations about the journal Her Boydan, which is set to be launched with a team of writers to be formed by the end of the Authorship academy. Drawing up presentations about the content, design, circulation and promotion of the journal Her Boydan, the young writers-to-be delivered their presentations in groups.


Following the presentations, the young writers-to-be were informed of the importance of translation in the context of literature and language and exchanged their views in the course titled “Translation Journey of a Text” lectured by writer and translator Kadir Daniş. 50 young participants from 32 countries, each of whom speaks no fewer than 2 languages, were taught about literary and cultural diversity in their native language within the scope of the course. Their awareness about passing down the literary and cultural diversity of Turkish to their native language was raised as a result.

Awarded a certificate by YTB Vice President Abduhadi Turus and the President of the Maltepe University Edibe Sözen, the academy participants paved the way for the first issue of Her Boydan, which is set to be Türkiye's first international student journal.

Helping international students with enthusiasm for literature to gather around the idea of releasing a journal under the motto of “think, dream, and write in Turkish”, Her Boydan Authorship Academy has also paved the way for young international students aspiring to be writers to make an indelible impression in the Turkish language.

To this end, we hope that the journal Her Boydan, which is set to be published following the end of the academy, will be the new home of international students in Turkish and the first step they take in their career as writers. The academy is mainly intended to turn the journal Her Boydan from a writing house into a school that trains new writers, and to help young writers-to-be to take their first step on their journey of growing into a writer.