One Step Forward

A warm welcome from Turkey to all our invaluable readers.

I guess you are thrilled by the cover of the Spring 2006 Edition. During the past three months, we took one huge step forward in order to bring you one of the best  literary contents of the world. And from the comments I recieve, I see that international readers do approve this diversity.

Let's see what's recently going on in the Istanbul Literature Review family.

You may have noticed that the contents of this edition almost doubled the previous two. We have nine short stories, fourteen poems, and many articles,and other pieces. This makes approximately 40 pages of literature,thanks to numerous delightful submissions we recieved out of which was so tough to choose.

As I write in the latest ilr eXtra, we have some new services and sections available,and I guess that's something you take for granted.

First of all, ilr Shop is now open for your service. On just one single page, you can purchase the books you like via the most trusted services on the web and,at the same time, you can read the monthly recommendations and see which book is hot and which is not. Not to mention, ilr Shop will be updated monthly. You can also search two major networks for the book you like to buy, as well.

The Delicate Sound of Thunder,our new section, and in my opinion the greatest one, will host the pieces like prose poetry, plays,etc… that you will definitely enjoy (thanks to the legendary Pink Floyd for the inspiration).

ilr Outsider, another brand-new section, gives the readers a unique oppurtunity to read different views of the events going on all around the world from international authors. You should listen to the echoes of your own voice.

Evantually,we have two new members in Istanbul Literature Review. First one, Luis Benitez, is a talented poet from Argentina with his eight books of poetry and two novels, along with two books of essays. From now on, you'll read samples of his intelligent work in the poetry section. Dmetri is the other newcomer to our staff. He is a Turkey-born essayist and critic and works as senior editor at Penguin Books Austuralia. He will review the books that you will no doubt be interested in. I welcome these two talented man and I'm so proud of having them in our family.

Among the delicate pieces in this edition, I want to draw your interest to some of the most interesting ones. In the poetry section, you will see a series of poems called “The Missing Mainland Children” by Richard Stevenson from Canada. He tells a serial murder case which took place in Canada years ago, do not miss it. And our new section “The Delicate Sound of Thunder” is ,in my opinion, one of the brightest sections of the edition. The prose poetry pieces by Christopher Woods and the one-act play “I Like Eyck” by Gary Beck are the ones you will enjoy. Perhaps the most interesting piece is the one which reveals the strange and rather interesting connection between famous Agatha Christie and Istanbul called "Agatha Christie and Pera Palas Hotel,Istanbul". You can find it in Turkish Delight.

We are taking the necessary steps that make one of the most innovative literary publications on the planet. I hope you enjoy this literary movement.

Cordially,

Etkin Getir
Founding Owner