Asher Kohn, 25, launched The Tuqay this year, telling stories from Istanbul to Kazan. A student of law at Washington University-Saint Louis, Kohn studied the Turkic world, as well as lived there for a short time, inspiring him to launch a platform that would tell the local narratives. The Tuqay published its first story about smuggling on the Turkish-Iranian border, and so his journey began. We got a chance to speak to Kohn.
Elan: Can you tell us a little about your professional background?
Asher Kohn: To be honest, mostly academic! I studied Turkey and the Turkic world in undergraduate, and focus in law school is on how post-Communist countries justify their natural resource exploitation through socialist, neo-liberal, or Islamic jurisprudence. I worked in Istanbul for a time as a freelance journalist and I did some consulting for an advertising firm as well, which brought me into the journalism and place-branding worlds.
Elan: You’re the founder of a news cooperative called The Tuqay. Tell us about the project and what inspired you to launch it?
AK: The Tuqay is a journal focused on the human element and local narratives in the interesting parts of the world. The project is borne out of frustration, to be honest. I found that most stories about the region I was interested in were about what [X EVENT] meant to American interests. This is silly, because plenty of things worth learning about that don’t involve commodity pricing or armies invading. The Tuqay hopes to bring some humanity and perspective to a geography often gawked at, not studied. We are currently doing weekly stories online, but we hope to move on to longer story arcs and go into print as we move forward.
Elan: How did The Tuqay get its name?
AK: Ğabdulla Tuqay was a Tatar man of letters who lived from 1886-1913. He wrote poetry, edited magazines, published books, and was generally the man to know to get something disseminated in late-Tsarist Tatarstan. Tuqay is not only a fun thing to say (pronounce it “Took-Eye”), but it shows our respect for and responsibility to those who came before us, all the while establishing currency in the 21st century: nobody is going to mistake us for anything but what we are.
Elan: What locations does The Tuqay focus on? And why was it important to provide a platform for this demographic?
AK: “The Tuqay begins focused – if that’s the right word – on a broad arc running from Istanbul through the Caucasus to Kazan, before cutting down past the Ferghana towards Jaipur. We are pleased, though, to consider stories from the Balkans, Iran, or emigrants from our region.”
A lot of the focus on this demographic is about what they mean to the United States, not what they mean to each other. There are lots of websites out there, such as NewEurasia, Mashallah News and EurasiaNet, who do a great job allowing people to speak for themselves about the issues they care about. There are lots of great things happening in this part of the world, but they’re missing their Tuqay, their megaphone through which to get disseminated. We have editorial and translation assistance, but we really want the voices and the emotions to shine through.
Elan: What has been your greatest challenge thus far?
AK: Patience! Nothing was built in a day, and people are always skeptical when you tell them you want to help them, because many have come in the past promising the same thing. The Tuqay must prove its brand and its steadfastness. We would also like a wider array of contributors: where are the Iranian artists? The Kyrgyz painters? The Uzbek storytellers? It’s a lot of walking into an online community and telling them to trust us, and that’s difficult for any start-up.
Elan: What can we expect in the near future from The Tuqay?
AK: More collaboration with comrades-in-arms, primarily. We are also hoping to focus on fine arts and the academy soon, as we put together months by theme and are not just trying to show off all that we can do. I hope you see more of us in the near future, and because this is our shared internet kutubkhane, we’d like to see more of you as well!
Tumblr: www.thetuqay.tumblr.com
Twitter: @TheTuqay
Email: Contact@thetuqay.com
Comments
Facebook
Twitter
Contact
Elan.tv
Comments