Meşāʽir üş-şuʽarā or Tezkere of ʽĀşık Çelebi

Author: ʽĀşık Çelebi (ed. G. M. Meredith-Owens)
Year: 2013 (repr. of 1971 edition)
ISBN: 9780718902001
Language: Turkish
Hardback, 680p, H210 x W149 (mm) 

Completed in 1569, the biographical dictionary (tezkere) of poets compiled by the Ottoman poet and provincial judge ʽAşık Çelebi is one of the principal sources for sixteenth-century Ottoman literary history. It lists more than 400 individuals writing verse in the Ottoman court style from the early fifteenth century to the last years of the reign of Süleyman (1520-66). Each entry contains an outline biography of the poet, detailing any official posts held, and samples of verse. Many entries, particularly for contemporary poets whom ʽAşık Çelebi knew personally, also contain lively character anecdotes. As well as being a valuable source of information, the tezkere is considered a significant example of the learned literary style of the period.

English introduction, notes and indices (xxv, 66 pp.); facsimile Ottoman text of Ms. BL Or. 6434 (599 pp.).