ABSTRACT
Riyazi's Gardens of Poets, initially compiled in 1609, is the last of a series of tezkires, starting with Sehi's in 1538, that memorialized and thus aimed to canonize a group of Ottoman poets from the fifteenth century onward. Regarding Zati, Riyazi reiterates Hasan celebi's judgment, though in a politer manner. He gives Zati his due by acknowledging his inborn disposition to poetry, but still states that "since some of his poems were far removed from good expression, they were no longer favored and disseminated". It is by virtue of language that Zati was reduced to ancient status within a short period. Yet that downward turn in reputation was driven by a literati self-fashioning that privileged linguistic ability in particular, with poetry serving as the main vehicle for demonstrating it. The case of Zati thus amply testifies to the fundamentally contingent and constructed process of Ottoman canon-making.
