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Andelibi (ʿAndelībī, Kastamonulu, fl. tenth/sixteenth century) was an Ottoman divan (dīvān, high culture) poet, originally from Kastamonu (in north-central Anatolia). His real name was Hasan (Ḥasan), and he lived under the aegis of Sultan Mehmed (Meḥmed) II (r. 848–50/1444–6 and 855–86/1451–81). Sources from his era provide the only evidence about his life and work, and his biographical information is mostly recorded in şuara tezkireleri (şuʿarā tedhkireleri, poets’ biographies). Andelibi worked as a religious official in Istanbul, where he achieved fame as a Qu…

Ebubekir Kani (Abū Bakr Kānī, also known as “Tokatlı Kani,” 1124–1206/1712–91), an Ottoman poet, prose writer, and master satirist, is a leading figure in twelfth/eighteenth-century Turkish literature. He was born in Tokat, in north-central Anatolia, where he also received his elementary education. He developed an interest in poetry at an early age and made a name for himself for his wittiness in both prose and verse. Depression in his youth compelled him to become a follower of the Mevlevi (Mevlevī) shaykh Abdülahad (ʿAbd al-Aḥad) Dede (d. 1179/1766) and affiliate himself …