Mihrî Hatun
Performance, Gender-Bending, and Subversion in Ottoman Intellectual History

Didem Havlioglu (Author)

9780815635499

Hardback, published 29 November 2017

256 pages, 3 colour, 4 black and white illustrations, 3 tables
21.8 x 14.4 x 2.5 cm, 0.535 kg

This is a path-breaking book. Its value lies not in ‘completeness’ but in showing the way toward more complete and nuanced studies of early modern women’s poetry in the Ottoman Empire.' - Walter G. Andrews, research professor, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilization, University of Washington

The early modern Ottoman poet Mihrî Hatun (1460–1515) succeeded in drawing an admiring audience and considerable renown during a time when few women were accepted into the male-dominated intellectual circles. Her poetry collection is among the earliest bodies of women’s writing in the Middle East and Islamicate literature, providing an exceptional vantage point on intellectual history. With this volume, Havliog?lu not only gives readers access to this rare text but also investigates the factors that allowed Hatun to survive and thrive despite her clear departure from the cultural norms of the time. Placing the poet in the context of her era and environment, Havliog?lu finds that the poet’s dramatic, masterful performance and subversiveness are the very reasons for her endurance and acclaim in intellectual history. Hatun performed in a way that embraced her marginal position as a woman and leveraged it to her advantage. Havliog?lu’s astute and nuanced portrait gives readers a fascinating glimpse into the life of a woman poet in a highly gendered society and suggests that women have been part of intellectual history long before the modern period.