A westerner writing about Istanbul "comes up against the Orient as a
European or American first, as an individual second," writes Edward Said.
The American writers gathered in this collection are approached from the
willed double perspective advocated by Said: as historically and culturally
positioned and as individuals. Looking at texts by writers who do not
necessarily define themselves as Orientalists, Kim Fortuny broadens the
possible ways of thinking about this complex, idiosyncratic city of the
world. In addition, the author's close critical readings of the works of seven
canonical American writers who came to Istanbul and wrote about it offer
a transnational approach to American writing that urges a loosening of a
collective, national grip on literature as a product of place. This volume will
be an invaluable addition to the history of American literature.

Year: 2010

Hardcover