Although books reflecting the influence of spiritualism were published in Turkish literature at the beginning of the 20th century, since Amâk-ı Hayal by Filibeli Ahmet Hilmi, books have aligned more with the mysticism movement, interpreted through Islam, rather than the spiritualism seen in world literature. Allan Kardec, who pioneered experimental spiritism in the 19th century, conducted experiments on phenomena such as reincarnation, communication with spirits, and summoning spirits. Spiritism initially spread to Europe as a mystical movement (Castellan, 1967).
Turkish poets who followed Islam, however, distanced themselves from the spiritualism movement's spiritistic perspective. Signs of mysticism were present in the novels of Samiha Ayverdi and Peyami Safa, as well as in the poems of Ahmet Haşim and Asaf Hâlet, but the understanding of the soul from a spiritualistic basis was almost never addressed in Turkish literary history.
In this context, it is important to publish books that can serve as academic resources and contribute to fields such as spiritualism and trans-poetry in Turkish literature. Therefore, the book titled Poems from Inner Life, published by Lakin Yayınları, is the subject of this review. This work emphasizes spiritualism, the concept of trans-poetry through Lizzie Doten’s poetry, and the influence of Edgar Allen Poe on Doten’s poems.