Publisher's Synopsis
The present work uncovers the pivotal role translations in the periodical Hawar played in the formation of a Kurdish cultural identity. In this light, it foregrounds translators' agency and their contributions in novel contexts and thus fills a crucial gap in this area.This work provides new insights into identity formation, focusing on translations in a key magazine published in a minoritized language in the 1930s and 1940s. In this context, it particularly underscores the agency of Celadet Ali^ Bedirxan as the leading translator and writer as well as the founder and chief editor of the magazine. His vision of Kurdish cultural identity in Hawar had a multilayered characteristic: It was oriented toward a dialogic relationship between Kurdish and western cultures. It proposed the Roman script for Kurdish language dialects and introduced a simple prose style. It also embraced a plural Kurdish religious aspect and led the way to the development of modern Kurdish literature.
