Albert Nekimken Turkish Theater Collection
Collection
Identifier: GTM-20220424
The Albert Nekimken Turkish Theater Collection comprises primary research material assembled by Nekimken in Turkey while working on his dissertation on the influence of German Marxist politics and Bertolt Brecht on modern theater in Turkey. The collection consists of 184 volumes of published plays (some banned, many now scarce or rare), as well as theater history and criticism, written mainly from 1960 to 1975, and 29 audio cassettes containing performances and interviews with actors, playwrights and screenwriters, recorded by Nekimken in 1975 and 1976. Additionally, the collection includes a folder of photographs related to Haldun Taner's play Epopee of Ali of Keshan.
An interview of Albert Nekimken regarding his experiences in Turkey and the creation of this collection was conducted via Zoom on January 30, 2022, by Prof. Sylvia Onder of Georgetown University; a link to the recorded interview can be found under "External Documents" in this finding aid. A digital copy of Albert's 1978 dissertation, "The Impact of Bertolt Brecht on Society and the Development of Political Theater in Turkey", is available for reference.
Most manuscripts collections at the Georgetown University Booth Family Center for Special Collections are open to researchers; however, restrictions may apply to some collections. Collections stored off site require a minimum of three days for retrieval. For use of all manuscripts collections, researchers are advised to contact the Booth Family Center for Special Collections in advance of any visit.
Series 2. Recorded interviews and performances, is restricted until the material is reformatted to digital audio files due to fragility of the cassette tapes.
Researchers are solely responsible for determining the copyright status of the materials being used, establishing who the copyright owner is, locating the copyright owner, and obtaining permission for intended use.
Albert Lee Nekimken (born 1944) is a faculty member of the University of Maryland Global Campus and brokerage house executive. From 1966 until 1968 he was a Peace Corps Volunteer working as a teacher in Tokat, Turkey. He returned to Turkey from 1975 to 1976 as a Fulbright fellow working in the Turkish Ministry of Education and the American Research Institute in Ankara. During this time he carried out research on contemporary Turkish theater, politics, and the influence of Bertolt Brecht, which informed his 1978 dissertation for the doctorate in comparative literature, "The Impact of Bertolt Brecht on Society and the Development of Political Theater in Turkey".
4 Cubic Feet (10 boxes and 1 folder)
Turkish
French
Gift of Albert Nekimken, 2022 and 2024. The bulk of the collection was donated in 2022 (accession GTM-20220424), with a small number of additional materials donated in 2024 (accession GTM-20240603).
Many of the books in the collection are very fragile, having mass market bindings, and made from inferior glues and acidic papers. The audio cassette recordings seem to be well-preserved, but some tape-leaders have separated from the spools; access to the recordings is restricted until the content can be transferred to digital media.
The collection has been rehoused in acid-free boxes.
Part of the Georgetown University Manuscripts Repository