Ottoman literary culture encompasses a diverse collection of texts, primarily composed in verse, which explore a wide range of life’s facets and contribute significantly to intellectual discourse. Participation in this literary discourse was a notable marker of distinction among the educated elite, signifying membership of an exclusive circle. This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of Ottoman literary culture, with a specific focus on poetry, serving as an invaluable asset to Ottoman studies. Various literary forms and genres pertinent to historical research – such as poetry, prose, divans, mecmuas, mesnevis, versified and prosimetrum history books, tezkires, hagiographies, surnames, sergüzeştnames, and tevarih manzumes – are succinctly introduced. Additionally, annotated references are provided to facilitate further study. Overall, this chapter seeks to enrich our comprehension of Ottoman literary culture and illuminate its paramount significance within the realm of Ottoman studies.

Writings by and about Úrsula de Jesús from seventeenth-century Lima depict her as a black visionary and spiritual intermediary who conveyed messages between souls in purgatory, God, and the living. Úrsula de Jesús’s spiritual diary, in particular, develops a notion of beautiful and virtuous Christian blackness, framed as a corrective to the worldly hierarchies separating the poorer and darker-skinned slaves, servants, and donadas from the wealthier Spanish or criolla nuns in colonial Lima.