Skip to content

meditations on home, belonging & all things literary

  • home
  • about
  • books + writers
  • reflections + series
    • Write Better
      • New Series: Become a Better Writer + Write Better
      • How to Become a Better Writer: Tips to Shift Your Perspective on Writing
      • How to Create a Writing Routine (and stick with it)
      • How to Become a Better Writer: 10 Yoga Practices for Writers
      • On Writing Better | Rainer Maria Rilke
    • Reading Around Asia
      • Reading around Asia Book List | The World Bookshelf Project
    • Monthly Wrap-Ups
    • Reflections
      • Is Love Truly Blind?: Love and Beauty, or the Lack Thereof
      • On Perfectionism and Creativity: Does Academic Writing Kill Creativity?
      • The Power of Narrative & Why Edward Said Would Be Proud: 35 Palestinian Narratives to Read
      • Istanbul, Not Constantinople… ?
      • The Sudan Series: The Power to Narrate
      • Reading Susan Cain’s ‘Quiet:The Power of Introverts’ As a Teacher
      • On Winter, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire & Home
      • Leila Aboulela: Home, The Nile & Roasted Watermelon Seeds
  • contact

Tag: edebiyat

all things literary, books + writers, featured, quotable, women's fiction36 Comments

George Eliot & Virginia Woolf on Happiness

April 14, 2020March 2, 2021 Neriman K., PhD

“Happiness,” Woolf writes, “is in the quiet, ordinary things. A table, a chair, a book with a paper-knife stuck between the pages. And the petal falling from the rose, and the light flickering as we sit silent.” Continue reading George Eliot & Virginia Woolf on Happiness

all things literary, books + writers, quotable10 Comments

Maya Angelou on Language

April 6, 2020November 13, 2020 Neriman K., PhD

“When I’m writing, I am trying to find out who I am, who we are, what we’re capable of, how we feel, how we lose and stand up, and go on from darkness into darkness. I’m trying for that. But I’m also trying for the language.” Continue reading Maya Angelou on Language

all things literary, music, reflections10 Comments

Music Inspired by Literature: From Cornwall to Småland | Part I

March 28, 2020June 19, 2020 Neriman K., PhD

Here’s a mixtape of books inspired by music and songs inspired by literature in a three part series. Continue reading Music Inspired by Literature: From Cornwall to Småland | Part I

reflections, Travel Series12 Comments

Istanbul, Not Constantinople… ?

July 30, 2019June 23, 2020 Neriman K., PhD

.. I’m from Istanbul. No, really. Originally. My great-great-great-great x great grandparents had been Ottomans. I don’t know what ethnicity, but yes, Istanbulites. No, not Arabs. Rums, you say? Maybe. I’ve always suspected that. No, not Armenian. But maybe. Continue reading Istanbul, Not Constantinople… ?

all things literary, books + writers, books in translation, featured, women's fiction, World literatureLeave a comment

Read My Review on World Literature Today: Zahia Rahmani

July 1, 2019March 2, 2021 Neriman K., PhD

When I found out that I was reviewing “Muslim” for World Literature Today, I was elated. And you can read about why in my review in the summer issue of World Literature Today. Continue reading Read My Review on World Literature Today: Zahia Rahmani

Author | Editor

  • Neriman K., PhD
Follow meditations on home, belonging & all things literary on WordPress.com

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Blog Stats

  • 35,551 reads

Goodreads

Professional Reader
Reviews Published
Virginia Woolf would’ve been 141 on January 25th; it is her birthday week. (Did you think I’d forget?!) This is ecofeminist artist Agnes Denes’s artwork “Living Pyramid”—proof that if you breathe in Istanbul, you simply shall not be spared by their majesty #catsofistanbul This quote is from a brief chapter from When We Were Sisters when the narrator Kausar listens to her sister Aisha play the cello. One of the lovely moments (in a tragic book) when Kausar finds exquisite beauty in the quotidian which ended up being the focus of my 2022 in review on RUOT. It’s a rainy Saturday morning & there’s nothing better than reading in bed, drinking coffee and petting the babies. The only sad thing is that I didn’t want Now is Not the Time for Panic to end. But like all good things, it did. So, it’s time I have a love post for @kevinwilsonauthor: I was kind of obsessed with writing this one. The last Woolf-inspired post until her birthday in January. I promise. (Link to RUOT on my profile as always). (And happy new year, everyone!) (I was just telling my students about how I am often off social media to avoid “the influencer culture” but that #bookstagram is my favorite corner of the internet. It truly is) Did I read at this coffee shop for hours? Maybe. :)

© Neriman Kuyucu, Reading Under the Olive Tree, 2023. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Neriman Kuyucu and Reading Under the Olive Tree with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

  • Follow RUOT on Instagram
Create a website or blog at WordPress.com
  • Follow Following
    • meditations on home, belonging & all things literary
    • Join 515 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • meditations on home, belonging & all things literary
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar