Proefschrift--Letteren--Universiteit Leiden, 2004. / Contient un résumé en anglais. Bibliogr. p. 216-224.

Cette thèse envisage de regarder la poésie de Yahya Kemal qui a vécu pendant une période qui correspond au temps de l’écroulement de l’Empire ottoman et de la fondation de la République turque, à un moment où les problèmes de la modernisation, de l’identité occidentale et orientale occupent intensément le climat intellectuel turc, sous l’angle de la question de l’influence. Yahya Kemal est considéré, avec Ahmet Haşim, comme le fondateur de la poésie turque. La première partie de la thèse a pour objectif d’interpréter la modernité dans le cadre de la notion de ‘devenir’ avancée par Gilles Deleuze et Felix Guattari. Dans la deuxième partie, la position de Baudelaire en tant que fondateur de la poésie moderne occidentale est de nouveau traitée dans le cadre des notions mises en avant par Deleuze et Guattari. Ces concepts sont les suivants : ‘et’, ‘devenir’, ‘régime signifiant’, ‘régime postsignifiant’ et ‘synthèse disjonctive’. Dans cette partie, d’une part les reflets de l’approche critique de Baudelaire sur Yahya Kemal, et de l’autre le ‘devenir moderne’ de la poésie de Yahya Kemal sont traités en partant de certaines notions avancées pour définir la poésie moderne. Il s’agit du ‘lyrisme’, de l’‘obscurité’ et de l’‘intertextualité’. Ces notions vont montrer que le ‘devenir moderne’ de la poésie n’est pas indépendante de son ‘demeurer traditionnel’. En outre, l’interaction entre la poésie de Yahya Kemal et celle de l’autre fondateur de la poésie turque, Ahmet Haşim, est significative. La dernière partie de la thèse envisage une réflexion sur la façon dont l’influence de Baudelaire et celle de Nedîm se rejoignent, interagissent et jouent un rôle dans la construction de la poésie de Yahya Kemal. Cette partie vise à comprendre pourquoi Baudelaire et Nedîm se distinguent parmi les nombreux poètes ayant influencés Yahya Kemal. Pour conclure, la thèse veut accentuer que l’effort de Yahya Kemal afin de s’approprier les traditions poétiques occidentales et orientales l’installe à une position privilégiée par rapport aux poètes qui adoptent l’une ou l’autre de ces traditions. / This thesis aims to look at the poetry of Yahya Kemal who has lived at a period corresponding to the fall of the Ottoman Empire and to the fondation of the Turkish Republic, at a time when the problems of modernity, occidental and oriental identities intensely occupy the Turkish intellectual climate through the angle of influence. Yahya Kemal is considered to be, together with Ahmet Haşim, the founder of modern Turkish poetry. The first part of the thesis intends to interpret modernity from the viewpoint of the notion of ‘being’ (devenir) advanced by Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari. In the second part, the position of Baudelaire as the founder of modern occidental poetry is once again treated in the frame of certain notions put forward by Deleuze and Guattari. These notions are the following : ‘and’ (et), ‘being’ (devenir), ‘signifying regime’ (régime signifiant), ‘post-signifying regime’ (régime post-signifiant) and ‘disjunctive synthesis’ (synthèse disjonctive). In this part, first the reflections on Yahya Kemal of the critical approach of Baudelaire, and second, the ‘being modern’ of Yahya Kemal’s poetry are treated through certain notions put forward to define modern poetry. These are ‘lyricism’, ‘obscurity’ and ‘intertextuality’. These notions will show clearly that the ‘being modern’ of poetry is not independent of its ‘remaining traditional’. In addition, the interaction between Yahya Kemal’s poetry and Ahmet Haşim’s, the other founder of modern Turkish poetry, is significant. The last part of the thesis aims to understand how Baudelaire’s and Nedîm’s influences meet, interact and play a role in the construction Yahya Kemal’s poetry. This part tries to comprehend why Baudelaire and Nedîm come forward among the numerous poets having influenced Yahya Kemal. To conclude, the thesis wishes to emphasize that Yahya Kemal’s effort to appropriate both of the occidental and oriental poetic traditions puts him in a privileged position in comparision with poets adopting one or the other of these traditions.

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Review of the book of Yahya Ali Omar `Three prose texts in the Swahili of Mombasa. Sprache und Oralität in Afrika´(1998).

This essay focuses on the reception of Yahya Hassan’s debut YAHYA HASSAN in Swedish media, mainly daily newspapers. Following the work of Magnus Nilsson it analyzes the “reading strategy of the politics of identity” in “immigrant literature” and outlines structural racism in the literary scene. By bringing attention to the critics’ use of this reading strategy, it is possible to unveil the “ethnic filter” through which literature by Swedish authors with a “non-Swedish identity” is being read in contemporary Swedish literary criticism. The concept of “immigrant literature” is discussed as a discourse, rather than as an empirical category. This essay aims to show how the Swedish critics read YAHYA HASSAN through the ethnic filter as a work of “immigrant literature”. The Swedish critics read the collection of poems as a political statement, and had difficulties defining Hassans work as poetry. Rather, it was read as an autobiographical novel in a working class tradition. There had been a long discussion in Swedish literary criticism about the autofictional genre, including a moral debate about the line between fact and fiction in autobiographical works. However, this was left almost unmentioned and Hassans poems were read as true and authentic depictions, something that the author himself contributed to in various ways. The essay also outlines the debate in Swedish media where critics discussed the author’s responsibility as an immigrant, a debate where many critics articulated a fear that the experiences depicted in Hassan’s poems could further inspire an already growing racist movement.

Saad Yahya, born in Zanzibar in 1939, studied architecture and town planning in Great Britain and in Canada; since 1968 he has lectured at the University of Nairobi. He portrays everyday life of typical inhabitants of Zanzibar and Nairobi, displaying a penetrating understanding of their problems and of their state of mind, linked with a remarkable stylistic ability. He is an acute observer who presents his characters with humour and irony, but also with a profound insight. Furthermore, in his stories, under the surface of everyday activities there is always some hidden antagonism or passion, never spelled out, but only alluded to. Several years ago Yahya sent me the manuscript of two other stories which I hoped to translate and publish in Italy, but ultimately it was not possible. I have included one of them, called Nyoko-nyoko and consisting in five typewritten pages, in the syllabus of my literary courses in Naples and in Paris. It is a rare - if not unique - Swahili story in which the main character is a Mzungu, a white man: the British governor of an imaginary East-Aftican country called Nyalia, who has to abandon his post suddenly for unspecified reasons. He regrets to must leave the country he has learned to know and to like; however, behind the mask of liberality and tolerance is hidden a self-conceited racist. The story describes his last day in Africa after a long stay.

Saad Yahya, born in Zanzibar in 1939, studied architecture and town planning in Great Britain and in Canada; since 1968 he has lectured at the University of Nairobi. He portrays everyday life of typical inhabitants of Zanzibar and Nairobi, displaying a penetrating understanding of their problems and of their state of mind, linked with a remarkable stylistic ability. He is an acute observer who presents his characters with humour and irony, but also with a profound insight. Furthermore, in his stories, under the surface of everyday activities there is always some hidden antagonism or passion, never spelled out, but only alluded to. Several years ago Yahya sent me the manuscript of two other stories which I hoped to translate and publish in Italy, but ultimately it was not possible. I have included one of them, called Nyoko-nyoko and consisting in five typewritten pages, in the syllabus of my literary courses in Naples and in Paris. It is a rare - if not unique - Swahili story in which the main character is a Mzungu, a white man: the British governor of an imaginary East-Aftican country called Nyalia, who has to abandon his post suddenly for unspecified reasons. He regrets to must leave the country he has learned to know and to like; however, behind the mask of liberality and tolerance is hidden a self-conceited racist. The story describes his last day in Africa after a long stay.

Review of the book of Yahya Ali Omar `Three prose texts in the Swahili of Mombasa. Sprache und Oralität in Afrika´(1998).

Cette thèse envisage de regarder la poésie de Yahya Kemal qui a vécu pendant une périodequi correspond au temps de l'écroulement de l'Empire ottoman et de la fondation de laRépublique turque, à un moment où les problèmes de la modernisation, de l'identitéoccidentale et orientale occupent intensément le climat intellectuel turc, sous l'angle de laquestion de l'influence. Yahya Kemal est considéré, avec Ahmet Ha#im, comme le fondateurde la poésie turque. La première partie de la thèse a pour objectif d'interpréter la modernitédans le cadre de la notion de 'devenir' avancée par Gilles Deleuze et Felix Guattari.Dans la deuxième partie, la position de Baudelaire en tant que fondateur de la poésie moderneoccidentale est de nouveau traitée dans le cadre des notions mises en avant par Deleuze etGuattari. Ces concepts sont les suivants : 'et', 'devenir', 'régime signifiant', 'régime postsignifiant'et 'synthèse disjonctive'. Dans cette partie, d'une part les reflets de l'approchecritique de Baudelaire sur Yahya Kemal, et de l'autre le 'devenir moderne' de la poésie deYahya Kemal sont traités en partant de certaines notions avancées pour définir la poésiemoderne. Il s'agit du 'lyrisme', de l''obscurité' et de l''intertextualité'. Ces notions vontmontrer que le 'devenir moderne' de la poésie n'est pas indépendante de son 'demeurertraditionnel'. En outre, l'interaction entre la poésie de Yahya Kemal et celle de l'autrefondateur de la poésie turque, Ahmet Ha#im, est significative. La dernière partie de la thèseenvisage une reflexion sur la façon dont l'influence de Baudelaire et celle de Nedîm serejoignent, s'interagissent et jouent un rôle dans la construction de la poésie de Yahya Kemal.Cette partie vise à comprendre pourquoi Baudelaire et Nedîm se distinguent parmi lesnombreux poètes ayant influencés Yahya Kemal. Pour conclure, la thèse veut accentuer quel'effort de Yahya Kemal afin de s'appropier les traditions poétiques occidentales et orientalesl'installe à une position privilégiée par rapport aux poètes qui adoptent l'une ou l'autre de cestraditions.