His books in English include two collections of his poems ("Shadows of Love", published in Canada, and "A Last Lullaby", published in the United States), Contemporary Turkish Literature, Modern Turkish Drama, Living Poets of Turkey, three books of the 13th century Anatolian mystic folk poet Yunus Emre, Rumi and the Whirling Dervishes (with Metin And), Suleiman the Magnificent - Poet, Turkish Legends and Folk poems, Tales of Nasreddin Hodja, and others.
He also published books featuring selections from the work of Fazıl Hüsnü Dağlarca, Orhan Veli Kanık, Sait Faik Abasıyanık, and Melih Cevdet Anday.
His renditions of three Turkish plays (I, Anatolia by Güngör Dilmen, Old Photographs by Dinçer Sümer, and In Ambush by Cahit Atay) have also been published.
He has translated Robinson Jeffers' version of "Medea"', Neal Simon's "Lost in Yonkers"', Dear Liar" (based on George Bernard Shaw-Mrs Patrick Campbell letters) and Eugene O'Neill's "The Iceman Cometh" (for the two latters plays he won Turkey's top play translation awards.)
In poetry Talat Sait Halman found, as he is quoted in a biographical essay listed below: "freedom of intellectual and emotional exploration; freedom in creative prospects..." (Festschrift, p. 5) In 2000, Talat Sait Halman was honored on his 70th birthday with a Festschrift (a volume of scholarly articles compiled by colleagues as a tribute to an eminent scholar).
Volume II is a Curriculum Vitae, running 184 pages and accounting for all of Professor Halman's vocational, literary and artistic activities and contributions (up to 1999) under five rubrics: (1) Monographs, (2) Prose, (3) Poetry, (4) Lectures, Speeches, Poetry Readings, Conferences and Special Programs, and (5) Media Events and Productions.
In 2006 Syracuse also published a retrospective anthology of his collected poems, fiction, drama, essays and other writings, edited by Jayne Warner: The Turkish Muse: Views and Reviews.
Aklın Yolu Bindir (published by Turkiye Bankasi, no date, but this volume appeared near the turn of the millennium) is also the title of an interview-format autobiography edited by Cahide Birgul.
This biographical interview runs to 519 pages and also features many photos of Professor Halman and his family, both predecessors and progeny.
One couplet that he has especially emphasized in many of his talks is from the following poem by Yunus Emre: We regard no one's religion as contrary to ours True love is born when all faiths are united as a whole.
He has given the world works of an astonishing range of topics while unifying his creations with stylish grace and preserving a high sense of responsibility.
Talat Halman has written clearly and publicly about subjects that matter to humanity, and through his perfect translations, through books at once scholarly and popular, he has worked valiantly and elegantly to close the gap of ignorance that divides the United States and Turkey."