GREAT OPPORTUNITIES OF A SMALL GENRE (EXAMPLE OF FARID EDGU'S STORIES)

Abstract

This article provides information about the work of contemporary Turkish writer Farid Edgu and analyses selected short stories. The stories analysed are taken from the short stories collections "Av" ("Hunting", 1967), "İşe Deniz, Maria" ("Here is the sea, Maria", 1999). The author also briefly mentions major Western and Turkish literary figures who have influenced the writer's work, and gives an idea of the general characteristics of their style. In particular, despite the fact that some of Farid Edgu's stories are very short, there is a deep philosophical meaning in their essence. In Turkish literary studies, such works are referred to as "minimal öykü" (minimal story). One of the most important aspects of Edgu's minimal stories is that they focus more on the situation than on the story. The works such as "Death of the Executioner" ("Cellad'ın Ölümü"), "Unexpected Guest" ("Beklenmeyen Konuk"), "In the Dark" ("Karanlıkta"), "If Only" ("Keşke") and "Thought" ("Hayalhane") are reviewed in this article. In these stories an attempt is made to reveal great possibilities of small genre and philosophical essence of life. In this sense one can conclude that the transfer of a small event or situation onto a large pictorial canvas is the main feature of Farid Edgu's style. In addition, the symbolic plot, symbolic image, symbolic dialogues, and their expression in a new method are the leading features of modern Turkish storytelling. Another unique feature of Farid Edgu's style is that he has convincingly highlighted human conflict situations such as tragedy, rebellion, intolerance and intransigence in all their complexity in a series of stories. The writer has made a great contribution to the development of figurative prose style and at the same time to the development of the "minimal story ("minimal öykü") genre in Turkish storytelling, making effective use of metaphor typical of Orientalist literature. The opinion of the Turkish literary critics, who have studied the works of Farid Edgu and have at times engaged in a debate with him, has also been taken into consideration. The article concludes with a summary of the unique aspects of the author's works and stories.