Jennifer Eaton Gokmen
Encyclopedia
Jennifer Eaton Gökmen is an American
writer
and editor
.
, graduated from Brentwood High School (Brentwood, Tennessee)
in 1989, and received her B.A. from Western Michigan University
in Creative Writing
and American
and British
Literature
from Western Michigan University
in 1994.
Gökmen has lived in Istanbul, Turkey with her Turkish
husband since 1994.
She is the daughter-in-law of Turkish politician Dr. Sami Gökmen, former Member of Parliament
from the Republican People's Party (CHP)
for the district of Muğla
during the 16th session of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM)
.
. Her writing has appeared in National Geographic Traveler
and Perceptive Travel.
In 2007 Gökmen co-hosted a Turkish television series focusing on expatriation issues of foreigners married to Turks, "Bir Yar Gelir Bizlere", on the state television station TRT (Turkish Radio and Television Corporation
).
Gökmen, along with Anastasia M. Ashman
, created and edited the nonfiction anthology
Tales from the Expat Harem: Foreign Women in Modern Turkey
. The collection includes the life experiences of 32 expatriate
women from seven nations and five continents, whose collective experience spans the length and breadth of Turkey
over the past four decades. Stories by scholars, artists, missionaries, journalists, entrepreneurs and Peace Corps
volunteers relate personal assimilation
into Turkish
friendship
, neighborhood, wifehood
, and motherhood.
Tales from the Expat Harem
is also published in Turkey
, where it was a #1 national bestseller
in January 2006. It has been translated into Turkish
under the title Türkçe Sevmek
, with a foreword by the controversial Turkish novelist Elif Shafak
.
The author, along with co-editor Anastasia M. Ashman
, was interviewed on NBC's
Today Show, on its annual travel segment Where in the World is Matt Lauer in May 2008.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
.
Background
Gökmen was born in Wayne, MichiganWayne, Michigan
Wayne is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan, southwest of Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 17,593...
, graduated from Brentwood High School (Brentwood, Tennessee)
Brentwood High School (Brentwood, Tennessee)
Brentwood High School is a public high school located in Brentwood, Tennessee, U.S.A. The school serves the north central section of Williamson County. It serves grades 9-12 and is known state-wide for its achievements in academics, the arts, and athletics...
in 1989, and received her B.A. from Western Michigan University
Western Michigan University
Western Michigan University is a public university located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. The university was established in 1903 by Dwight B. Waldo, and as of the Fall 2010 semester, its enrollment is 25,045....
in Creative Writing
Creative writing
Creative writing is considered to be any writing, fiction, poetry, or non-fiction, that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, and technical forms of literature. Works which fall into this category include novels, epics, short stories, and poems...
and American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
from Western Michigan University
Western Michigan University
Western Michigan University is a public university located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. The university was established in 1903 by Dwight B. Waldo, and as of the Fall 2010 semester, its enrollment is 25,045....
in 1994.
Gökmen has lived in Istanbul, Turkey with her Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
husband since 1994.
She is the daughter-in-law of Turkish politician Dr. Sami Gökmen, former Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
from the Republican People's Party (CHP)
Republican People's Party (Turkey)
The Republican People's Party is a centre-left Kemalist political party in Turkey. It is the oldest political party of Turkey and is currently Main Opposition in the Grand National Assembly. The Republican People's Party describes itself as "a modern social-democratic party, which is faithful to...
for the district of Muğla
Mugla
Muğla is a city in south-western Turkey. It is the center of the district the same name, as well as of Muğla Province, which stretches along Turkey´s Aegean coast. Muğla center is situated inland at an altitude of 660 m and lies at a distance of about from the nearest seacoast in the Gulf of...
during the 16th session of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM)
Grand National Assembly of Turkey
The Grand National Assembly of Turkey , usually referred to simply as the Meclis , is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Constitution. It was founded in Ankara on 23 April 1920 in the midst of the Turkish War of Independence...
.
Career
Gökmen has been a regular contributor to TimeOut Istanbul magazine and Turkish national daily newspapers Hurriyet Daily News and Today's ZamanToday's Zaman
Today's Zaman is one of two English-language dailies based in Turkey. Established on January 16, 2007, the newspaper's main competitor is the older Hürriyet Daily News....
. Her writing has appeared in National Geographic Traveler
National Geographic Traveler
National Geographic Traveler is a magazine published by the National Geographic Society in the United States. It was launched in 1984. Local-language editions of National Geographic Traveler are published in Armenia, Belgium/the Netherlands, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Indonesia, Latin America,...
and Perceptive Travel.
In 2007 Gökmen co-hosted a Turkish television series focusing on expatriation issues of foreigners married to Turks, "Bir Yar Gelir Bizlere", on the state television station TRT (Turkish Radio and Television Corporation
Turkish Radio and Television Corporation
The Turkish Radio and Television Corporation, also known as TRT , is the national public broadcaster of Turkey and was founded in 1964. Around 70% of TRT's funding comes from a tax levied on electricity bills and a sales tax on television and radio receivers...
).
Gökmen, along with Anastasia M. Ashman
Anastasia M. Ashman
Anastasia M. Ashman is an American author and cultural producer.-Background:Ashman was born in Berkeley, California, graduated from Berkeley High School in 1982, and received her A.B. from Bryn Mawr College in Classical Greek, Roman, and Near Eastern Archaeology in 1986...
, created and edited the nonfiction anthology
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
Tales from the Expat Harem: Foreign Women in Modern Turkey
Tales from the Expat Harem
Tales from the Expat Harem: Foreign Women in Modern Turkey is a nonfiction anthology by 32 expatriate women from seven nations and five continents about their lives in modern Turkey, published by Seal Press in North America and Doğan Kitap in Turkey .Edited by Anastasia M...
. The collection includes the life experiences of 32 expatriate
Expatriate
An expatriate is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing...
women from seven nations and five continents, whose collective experience spans the length and breadth of Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
over the past four decades. Stories by scholars, artists, missionaries, journalists, entrepreneurs and Peace Corps
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping...
volunteers relate personal assimilation
Cultural assimilation
Cultural assimilation is a socio-political response to demographic multi-ethnicity that supports or promotes the assimilation of ethnic minorities into the dominant culture. The term assimilation is often used with regard to immigrants and various ethnic groups who have settled in a new land. New...
into Turkish
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
friendship
Friendship
Friendship is a form of interpersonal relationship generally considered to be closer than association, although there is a range of degrees of intimacy in both friendships and associations. Friendship and association are often thought of as spanning across the same continuum...
, neighborhood, wifehood
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
, and motherhood.
Tales from the Expat Harem
Tales from the Expat Harem
Tales from the Expat Harem: Foreign Women in Modern Turkey is a nonfiction anthology by 32 expatriate women from seven nations and five continents about their lives in modern Turkey, published by Seal Press in North America and Doğan Kitap in Turkey .Edited by Anastasia M...
is also published in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, where it was a #1 national bestseller
Bestseller
A bestseller is a book that is identified as extremely popular by its inclusion on lists of currently top selling titles that are based on publishing industry and book trade figures and published by newspapers, magazines, or bookstore chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and...
in January 2006. It has been translated into Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
under the title Türkçe Sevmek
Tales from the Expat Harem
Tales from the Expat Harem: Foreign Women in Modern Turkey is a nonfiction anthology by 32 expatriate women from seven nations and five continents about their lives in modern Turkey, published by Seal Press in North America and Doğan Kitap in Turkey .Edited by Anastasia M...
, with a foreword by the controversial Turkish novelist Elif Shafak
Elif Safak
Elif Şafak , is a Turkish writer who writes in both Turkish and English. Her books have been translated into more than thirty languages.-Fiction:...
.
The author, along with co-editor Anastasia M. Ashman
Anastasia M. Ashman
Anastasia M. Ashman is an American author and cultural producer.-Background:Ashman was born in Berkeley, California, graduated from Berkeley High School in 1982, and received her A.B. from Bryn Mawr College in Classical Greek, Roman, and Near Eastern Archaeology in 1986...
, was interviewed on NBC's
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
Today Show, on its annual travel segment Where in the World is Matt Lauer in May 2008.
Works
- from the Expat Harem: Foreign Women in Modern Turkey
- Official Expat Harem Blog
- Doğan Kitap, Turkish publisher of Tales from the Expat Harem and Turkish version, Türkçe Sevmek
- Seal Press, North American publisher of Tales from the Expat Harem
Awards/Honors
- Gökmen and her co-editor Anastasia M. AshmanAnastasia M. AshmanAnastasia M. Ashman is an American author and cultural producer.-Background:Ashman was born in Berkeley, California, graduated from Berkeley High School in 1982, and received her A.B. from Bryn Mawr College in Classical Greek, Roman, and Near Eastern Archaeology in 1986...
were honored with the 2006 Daughters of Atatürk "Woman of Distinction Award", a title that is bestowed annually on selected women who have "demonstrated vision, leadership, innovation and professionalism" in "giving their talents to the international Turkish community". Other 2006 honorees include Güler SabancıGüler SabanciGüler Sabancı is a third-generation female member of the renowned Sabancı family, and currently the chairperson of the family-controlled Sabancı Holding, the second-biggest industrial and financial conglomerate of Turkey.-Biography:...
, Caroline FinkelCaroline FinkelCaroline Finkel is a British historian and writer based in Turkey, with a doctorate from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London....
, and Leslie Peirce.
External links
- Blog
- Official Website of Tales from the Expat Harem: Foreign Women in Modern Turkey
- Jennifer Gokmen on Twitter
See also
- National Geographic Traveler July/August 2006 48 Hours in Istanbul
- Daily Telegraph (UK) January 31, 2007 Expat Book Reviews
- International Herald Tribune December 12, 2006 Recommended reading on Turkish culture
- Perceptive Travel May/June 2006 Book Reviews
- Globe and Mail (Canada) April 2006 Travel Books
- The Today Show, NBC television "Where in the World is Matt Lauer?" May 1, 2008