The book offers the opportunity to plot the journey of polyphonic music in Turkey.
Gönül Gökdoğan is Turkey’s first violin professor and one of the founders of the String Instruments Department of the Istanbul State Conservatory. Thanks to the pandemic Zeynep Keten gained the opportunity to write the book of her life, Bir Gönül Hikayesi (A Story of the Heart, Sözcükler Yayınevi). The confinement of the pandemic led to extended talks with Keten’s neighbor of fifteen years, Gönül Gökdoğan, which in time turned into a book project. Keten recorded their talks during which Gökdoğan conveyed details of her life sincerely and truthfully, in the hopes that they would inspire future generations.
Gökdoğan was born into a remarkable family. Therefore, the book is not only about Gönül Gökdoğan but also about her mother Nüzhet Gökdoğan and her grandmother Nezihe Pelit. Nüzhet Gökdoğan was one of the students Atatürk sent to Europe for higher education, and she was Turkey’s first woman astronomer, first woman dean and first woman senator. The book also offers the opportunity to plot the journey of polyphonic music in Turkey. Gökdoğan’s tremendous efforts in education upon her return to Turkey from Paris at the age of thirty remind the reader how much dedication and sacrifice went into creating the institutions of today’s Turkey. Keten states that particularly the chapters, “Büyük Bir Mucize” (Big Miracle), “Hayal Kırıklığı ve Büyük Başarı” (Disappointment and Big Success), and “Bileğimin Hakkı” (Fair and Square) affected her deeply, when Gökdoğan relayed them, as they showcased the indomitable, just and proud personality of Gökdoğan.
Published July 2023
