Elif Yemenici opened her eyes to the world on the morning of March 4 to catch up with the arrival of spring. Throughout her childhood, her favorite possession was her crayon box. She loved the scent of that box. She painted the songs she composed on her organ, then sang the songs to her pictures. In order not to leave the colors and art papers she loved so much, she graduated from Eskişehir Anatolian High School’s Painting Department and then from Anatolian University Fine Arts Faculty’s Printing Arts Department and Communication Faculty’s Cinema and Television Department, meanwhile writing and illustrating stories for children’s magazines and participating in exhibitions at home and abroad. Since graduation she has devoted herself to creating picture books and has illustrated more than 80 books to date. The first book she wrote and illustrated, Eyvah Kalbim Kırıldı! (Oops, My Heart Is Broken!), was selected for the White Ravens list of the world’s most important children’s books and has been widely translated. She creates new illustrations in her home in Istanbul, accompanied by the laughter of seagulls. To find out more about Elif, visit www.elifyemenici.com/elifyemenici.
Sidney Wade is a poet and translator residing in Gainesville, Florida, and a professor of poetry at the University of Florida. Her volumes of poetry include Deep Gossip, Stroke, Bird Book, Green, Straits & Narrows, Empty Sleeves, and Celestial Bodies.
