Contemporary Turkish Literature Research Articles

The Formation of Literary Canons in History of Turkish Literature

The term ‘canon’ is derived from the Greek word ‘kanon’, which refers to a law, criterion, or rule. It implies a criterion for determining what is true or authentic. In the context of literature, the concept of canon is associated with works that serve as examples or criteria for subsequent literary works, and that can become classical masterpieces. The canonization of art typically occurs in two ways. The first occurs through the natural process of people appreciating certain works, leading them to become classics. The second occurs in a ‘guided (goal oriented)’ manner in which certain authorities, such as political parties, governments, or ideologies, shape the canon to serve their interests. It is observed that many countries use literature and art as cultural tools to promote the national identity and ideology to individuals and society, viewing them as a means of cultural control. The inception of contemporary Turkish literature can be traced back to the 'Tanzimat Edict' of 1839, which sought to revitalize various areas, including literature, during the final years of the Ottoman Empire. With the conclusion of the First World War, the Ottoman Empire came to an end and the Turkish Republic was established. During the war years spanning 1911 to 1923, national sentiments and ideas became prominent themes in Turkish literature. Upon the establishment of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, national sentiments and specific ideas continued to exert their influence on the country's literature due to the prevalent awareness of Turkish identity that many felt needed to be instilled in society. The works produced by authors for this purpose are considered as part of the national literature. The newly established state aimed to adopt contemporary norms and, in this context, introduced reforms in every sphere of Turkish life. Literature was utilized as a tool to encourage public acceptance of these reforms, and the literature produced for this purpose was referred to as ‘revolution literature’. When examining the history of Modern Turkish Literature, one can observe literary works that fit within the framework of a ‘national literature canon’ or ‘revolution canon’. These works aim to present new values, ideas, and understandings to society by devaluing or criticizing old ones. This process of guided transformation is also known as ‘dirigisme’. Throughout history in Turkey, various groups (Kemalists, Marxists, nationalists, Islamists) have created ‘guided literature’ to teach or persuade others to adopt their ideologies. Poets and writers who were constrained by the political regimes, ideologies, and dominant powers of their time often reacted through an ‘anti-canon’ or ‘dissent canon’ strategy, resisting the official canon that political powers sought to establish. As a result, literature and art placed increasing importance on irony in language and expression. Utopias were also explored in ‘dissent canonical texts’ as a means of escaping from the unhappy present world. Keywords: Literature, Art, Canon, Dirigism, Guidance

(Re)-Killing of a Sacred Deer: Myths, Ecology, and Hegemony in Murathan Mungan’s Deer Curses

Abstract This article traces the motif of the deer hunt from ancient Greek texts to its reinterpretation in contemporary Turkish literature. The motif, which appears frequently in both ancient Greek myths and the legends of Central Asian warrior Turkish societies, is reproduced as a fusion in the works of contemporary Turkish writer Murathan Mungan (*1955). The meanings attached to the motif take on a different dimension during this reproduction, which has implications for themes such as taboo, transgression, and the hierarchy of animal-human relationships in folk narrative. An analysis of Mungan’s play Deer Curses can aid in elucidating the points of folk narrative in regard to these themes and anthropocentrism. This article thus investigates how the motif of the deer hunt, among other deer-related motifs, is revived in a contemporary literary work and what type of conclusions it may bring in analyzing human-animal relationships, as well as hegemony, through a symbolic reading of this relationship.

Cemal Süreya’da Apollinaire Etkisi

Influence is a common situation in the literary field in every period. Authors were influenced by the authors and literary works of previous periods and rewrote similar ones or provided a rich source for their own original texts. Cemal Süreya, one of the most important poets of contemporary Turkish literature, was also influenced by the famous French poet Guillaume Apollinaire, who is considered the founder of Surrealism; He even avoided being influenced and became a creative poet who could write "new" and "other". This study is an impact study. In the study, the influence of the French poet Apollnaire on the Turkish poet Cemal Süreya will be examined and the traces of Apollinaire will be tried to be traced in Cemal Süreya's poetics. The influence among the poets will be revealed with a text-based comparative method. An eclectic attitude will be displayed in the study, as the data of hermeneutics, stylistics, psychoanalysis and archetypal criticism theories will be used. Key Words: Apollinaire, Cemal Süreya, Comparative Literature, Poetics, Influence-influence

Rüya Tâbirnâmesi Üzerine Düş Metaforu Temelinde Göstergebilimsel Bir Değerlendirme

Eski harfli eserler güncel Türk edebiyatının temelini oluşturan önemli metinlerdir. Bu eserler yazıldığı dönemin dil özelliklerini yansıttığı gibi anlam açısından da derinliği olan yapılar barındırmaktadır. Yazım imkânlarının da gelişmemiş olması az sözle çok şey anlatma ihtiyacını doğurmuştur. Bu durum eski eserlerin anlamsal derinliğini arttırmıştır. Rüya tabirnâmeleri ise Türkiye genelinde yazma eserler kütüphanelerinde birçok nüshası bulunan yaygın eserlerdir. Bu nüshaların birçoğu İbni Sîrîn’e ait olan Tâbirnâme’den tercüme yoluyla oluşturulmuş eserlerdir. Bu eserler yazarlarının da katkılarıyla telif hâlini almıştır. Tâbirnâmeler genellikle bab veya fasıl şeklinde bölümlere ayrılmış ve her bölümde rüya ile ilgili farklı konulara değinilmiştir. Temel metafor rüyadır. Dil ustaca kullanılarak rüya-düş metaforu etrafında eserler oluşturulmuştur. Göstergebilimsel bakış ise eserlerin anlam katmanlarını ortaya çıkararak asıl anlama ulaşmayı amaçlar. Metin göstergebilimi kullanılarak okurun okuma deneyimine odaklanılır. Çalışmamızda “Rüya Tâbirnâmesi” isimli eserin Kayseri Raşit Efendi Yazma Eser Kütüphanesi’nde 1374 demirbaş numarasıyla kayıtlı bulunan nüshası esas alınmıştır. Metin incelenirken “örnek okur” kavramı kullanılarak düş metaforu temel alınmış ve anlamsal yapı ortaya çıkarılmaya çalışılmıştır.

On Sezai Karakoç’s Translation of Lament for Andalus

Çağdaş Türk edebiyatının önemli simalarından Sezai Karakoç, hayatın tüm alanlarında yeniden yükselişi hedefleyen ve “diriliş” kavramında ifadesini bulan düşüncesiyle öne çıkmış bir şahsiyettir. Diriliş, zıddı olan düşüş, çöküş gibi olguları çağrıştırdığı için, Karakoç’un fikir dünyasında insanın ve medeniyetin düşüşü de özel bir anlama sahiptir. İslâm tarihinin parlak sayfalarından sayılan Endülüs medeniyetinin çöküşünün, düşüşün çarpıcı örneklerinden biri olarak mütefekkirin gündeminde sürekli yer aldığı bilinmektedir. Miladî on üçüncü asrın meşhur şairlerinden Ebü’l-Bekā Sâlih b. Şerîf er-Rundî’ye ait Endülüs mersiyesini (Risâu’l-Endelüs) Endülüs’e Ağıt başlığıyla manzum olarak Türkçeye çevirmesi, onun, bölgeye ve çöküşüne yönelik ilgisinin somut örneklerinden birini teşkil etmektedir. Bu makalede, Karakoç’un mezkûr çevirisi, kasidenin Arapça metniyle mukayeseli olarak ele alınmakta, ilmî ve edebî açıdan değerlendirmeye tabi tutulmaktadır. Çalışma, hem çevirinin, kasidenin diğer tercümeleri karşısında durduğu yeri tespit etmeyi hem de bir şairin kaleminden çıkan şiir çevirisinin, bu vasfa sahip olmayan mütercimlerin ortaya koyduğu metinlerden farklı özelliklere sahip olup olmayacağı sorusuna ışık tutmayı hedeflemektedir.

From Inferiority to Alienation in Adalet Ağaoğlu’s Fikrimin İnce Gülü

Adalet Ağaoğlu’s Fikrimin İnce Gülü is one of the most celebrated novels of contemporary Turkish literature. Published in 1976 and dealing with a variety of themes, the novel tells the story of Bayram, a Turkish immigrant worker’s journey from the Turkish border gate to his native village. This study aims to analyse Bayram’s narrative under two major headings: inferiority and alienation. Specifically, the article argues that the ultimate cause of Bayram’s actions is the inferiority complex which, combined with his obsessive commodity fetishism, eventually ends up with his total alienation from society. To this end, the research initially scrutinises the concept of inferiority complex through the window of individual psychology and its founder, Alfred Adler. In addition, the study also examines the notion of alienation with references to several influential thinkers. Thus, the article reveals that Bayram has become the victim of his traumatic childhood, youth experiences and social background, which give rise to his chronic feelings of inferiority. These feelings of inferiority in turn are aggravated by the capitalist system of production, eventually leading to the alienation, extreme disillusionment and isolation of Bayram as an individual. This research concludes that Bayram is an unconscious victim of his alienation and finally completes the cycle to a self-conscious state of mind after being left on his own, desperate and void of meaningful purpose orhope.

The Social Anxiety in the Religious Perception of Abdullah Cevdet

Abdullah Cevdet, II. Meşrutiyet Devri Batıcı yaklaşımın hazırlayıcısı konumundadır.
 Bununla beraber yazar, Cumhuriyet devri resmi programının entelektüel altyapısını oluşturmuştur.
 Bu çalışmada, Abdullah Cevdet’in 1908-1918 yıllarında verdiği edebî ve fikrî
 ürünlerdeki din algısını etkilediği düşünülen toplumsal kaygı zemini ele alınmıştır. Bu
 çerçevede toplumsal kaygı kavramının anlam alanına dair açıklamalar yapılmıştır. Batı
 modernitesi karşısında hissedilenleri aksettirdiği düşünülen “seyl-i hurûşân” benzeri ifadelerin
 tekabül ettiği anlamlar ele alınmıştır. Bununla beraber söz konusu ifadelerin yeni
 Türk edebiyatı ürünleri ve özelde Abdullah Cevdet’in şiir ve yazılarındaki din algısına
 olan etkisi değerlendirilmiştir. Yazarın toplumsal kaygı çerçevesinde şekillenen yaklaşımı,
 din ve inanç sahasında ciddi değişimleri önermektedir. Bu çerçevede yazarın, yeni bir
 materyalist ahlak tesis edilmesi gerektiği vurgusu dikkate değerdir.

An Evaluation of The Sociological Texture of Yaşar Kemal’s Novels in The Context of Feminist Literary Criticism

Yaşar Kemal, accepted as one of the important writers of World and Contemporary Turkish Literature, produced works in many genres of literature. The works of Yaşar Kemal, who is best known as a novelist, contain many social facts about Turkish social reality throughout the history of the Republic. The geography of his novels from Çukurova to Istanbul includes many social issues such as aghas (tribal chieftains), social banditry, population exchange, poverty, environmental change, rural life, intangible cultural heritage elements and the social consequences of wars. His original competence in the Romani language, his success in building social-cultural characters, his ability to transfer social events to fiction with an aesthetic talent, and his awareness for human beings and the environment have given Yaşar Kemal a high profile in the world of literature. Social change processes focused on the production relations that started in Turkey in 1950/60s brought about their own material conditions starting from Çukurova region. This process is undoubtedly reflected in art. Yaşar Kemal treated in detail the sociological texture of this change from many aspects in his works. Thus, he became an artist who succeeded in touching universal human reality way beyond the perception of a novel confined only to Çukurova. Within this human reality, women are included as the main characters. Given the humanitarian cultural basis on which he built his novels, it can be seen that in all Yaşar Kemal’s novels, women have a respectable position. This study aims to make a sociological study on Yaşar Kemal’s published novels and to contribute to different readings with feminist literary criticism.

Tayfun Pirselimoğlu'nun Otel Odaları ve Çölün Öbür Tarafı Adlı Öykü Kitaplarında

The fact that Franz Kafka (1883-1924), who is one of the literatiers of the 20th century, which is defined as an era where people lose their meaning and value, reveals the lifestyle of modern man with his own language, style and technique is called with the concept of “kafkaesque”. Kafkaesque with psychological and sociological content expresses itself in a metaphorical language while dealing with the problems that modern people face in the social environment and bureaucracy starting from the family within the framework of of ways such as loneliness, meaninglessness, incompatibility, lack of communication, alienation, nonsense, fear, crisis, power, crime and punishment. This form of expression, which has influenced many disciplines, has carried Kafka beyond the age of its life with its intensive use in philosophy and literature. In modern literature, the idea of bending on the individual and writing like that of Kafka has increased the interest in the form of kafkaesk. It was determined that Kafka, which was recognized in Turkish literature in 1950s by translation and then attracted attention in the works of existential writers, also had an impact on today's writers. In this context, within the contemporary Turkish cinema and contemporary Turkish literature; It is possible to see the Kafka effect in the works of Tayfun Pirselimoglu (1959-), who stands out as a director, screenwriter, producer, painter, story and novelist. Pirselimoglu, who focuses on the problem of existence of “ordinary man” in his stories and novels and goes on the way of telling him with metaphors, includes kafkaesk elements. In this study, it is aimed to evaluate the pathways such as alienation, murder, crime-trial, waiting-hope and unreality in terms of kafkaesk elements in the storybooks of Pirselimoglu's Hotel Rooms (2009) and The Other Side of the Desert (2018).

Resistance of the Postmodern Turkish Novel to the Return of Nationalism

My aim in this paper is to survey the journey of Turkey’s postmodern historical fiction, referred to as “historiographic metafiction” by Linda Hutcheon (1988). This genre of postmodern fiction designates a narrative with two predominant features: (a) it is principally a retelling of a historical occurrence from a counter-position against the supposed factuality of the original story, and (b) it contains the self-reflexivity of its author, which enables him/her to question the boundary between fact and fiction, if there is any at all. Obviously, Hutcheon’s conception of this particular category of postmodern fiction was mainly derived from an approach which stresses inherent narratological characteristics in the writing of history, as argued by Hayden White and other historiographers. My research questions in this study are: How successfully is historiographic metafiction used by postmodernist writers in Turkish literature? When we consider the rise of nationalism in Turkey and in the world, can postmodern literature offer an alternative to authoritative discourses? Has postmodernism been able to challenge traditional representations in Turkey? An analysis of selected works of contemporary Turkish literature will supply an answer to these questions.

The Psychiatrist as Novelist in Contemporary Turkish Literature: Pushing the Boundaries of the Real

In the past decade, several psychiatrist-novelists established a niche for themselves in Turkish literature and their works draw interest from both their particular readership and the broader literary circles. It is not unusual for the members of a medical field that is preoccupied with understanding the psyche through personal narratives to turn toward a realm that have similar motivations. However, the limited number of such writers globally renders this trend in Turkish literature unique. Furthermore, the works of these psychiatrist-novelists stand out with their pushing the boundaries of the real in various ways. Narratives of pathology, science, and fantasy predominate their ouvre. This article argues that the high number of psychiatrist-novelists in contemporary Turkish literature and their preference over narratives that challenge the concept of reality are related to their profession. It discusses how their personal and professional experiences in medicine manifest as a key influence in their creative endeavours.

Historical Novel in Turkish Literature: The Novel “Shah and Sultan” by Iskender Pala

<p>The purpose of the article is to reveal the formation and the development of historical novel genre in Turkish literature and to reveal some of its characteristic features using the example of the novel "Shah and Sultan" by the Turkish writer Iskender Pala. In this study we relied on comparative and descriptive methods of the study. We also used the method of historical analysis. Iskender Pala's novel "The Shah and the Sultan" is defined by the author of this study as a true historical novel based on genuine historical figures and events. The practical significance of the work is related to the fact that the materials and the results of this study can be used in the course of lectures on contemporary Turkish literature, as an example during literature seminars, and also to continue the study of the writer's work as a whole. Thus, we see that the genre of the novel, in particular historical one, is a relatively new phenomenon in Turkish literature. The novel by Iskandar Pala "Shah and the Sultan" is a prime example of the modern Turkish historical novel, which was based on genuine historical figures and events.</p>

Original resemblance: the function of similarity in Tanpınar’s “Yaz Gecesi”

ABSTRACTThis article examines how Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar’s short story “Yaz Gecesi (A Summer’s Night)” engages in a dialogue based on “resemblance” to James Joyce’s short story, “The Sisters.” In doing so, Tanpınar interrogates the discourses on authenticity and originality that emerged from the cultural politics of the early Turkish Republic. Read alongside Tanpınar’s other literary critical concepts like terkip, his story forges important links to Joyce’s concerns about narrative’s ability to contain cultural continuity while grounding them in and for the Turkish context. Examining Tanpınar’s critical writing on the Turkish novel, particularly the relationship between literary traditions and the concept of originality in the early Republic, this article demonstrates that Tanpınar’s short story is a creative embodiment of his concept of terkip. Through analyzing Tanpınar’s affirmation of the way literature from the past and from the West is integral for readers to interpret and derive meaning from contemporary Turkish literature, “Yaz Gecesi” can be read as a creative theorization of intercultural dialogue and intertextuality in the Turkish literary tradition.

İSKENDER PALA’NIN ROMANLARINDA YENİ TARİHSELCİLİĞİN İZLERİ TRACES OF THE NEW HISTORICISM ON İSKENDER PALA’S NOVELS1 СЛЕДЫ НОВОЙ ИСТОРИОГРАФИИ В РОМАНАХ ИСКЕНДЕРА ПАЛА

Iskender Pala, cagdas Turk edebiyatinin degerli yazarlarindan biridir. Ozellikle, yazdigi tarihi romanlarla Turk tarihine ve edebiyatina onemli katkilar saglamistir. Bu calismanin amaci, Iskender Pala’nin romanlarinda yer alan, Yeni Tarihselcilik ve Postmodernizm ile alakali olan tarihi yorumlamalarini tespit etmek ve yorumlamaktir.

The narrative games of Orhan Pamuk

The paper deals with narrative techniques and methods in the novels by Orhan Pamuk that show a fascinating variety. It has been observed that the opus of this celebrated Turkish author consists mainly of novels different in themes, languages and styles. His prose is marked by a constant experimenting with the form finding some new and unused solutions that bring innovations from the narrative aspect not only to the contemporary Turkish literature, but to the global literature too. From his first novel, Cevdet Bey and His Sons (1982), until the latest, A Strangeness in My Mind (2014), Pamuk has been constantly occupied by narrative games, succeeding to surprise his readers with new narrative techniques and styles.

The Bibliography of “Sesler” Journal: Shout of Macedonia and Kosova Turks by Ertuğrul Karakuş

As well it should be mentioned that the scope of the author’s doctoral thesis is the Contemporary Turkish Literature of Macedonia and Kosova which has been formed around this journal

La sinistra turca e il trauma della repressione: il "romanzo del 12 marzo"

The essay analyses the main features of “The March 12th Novel”, a literary trend emerging in the aftermath of the military intervention in Turkey of the 12th of March 1971. The “March 12th Novel”, which had a deep impact on Turkish prose during the 1970s, represents the first attempt by left wing novelists to investigate the traumatic dimension of the political persecution endured by the socialist movement in the years following the coup. Starting with a brief survey of the major changes that occurred in Turkish political and social life between the 1960s and 70s, the essay focuses on key topics like torture and repression, which deeply influenced the narrative structures and strategies built up by the “12th of March Novelists”. In this light I will try to clarify the position of the “March 12th” trend in contemporary Turkish literature. Taking into account the novels written by Cetin Altan, Furuzan, Erdal Oz and Sevgi Soysal, the essay will concentrate on the different ways these authors came to depict the defeat of the Turkish Left.

TURKOLOGIE ALS STECKENPFERD? VON PAUL HORN BIS CARL FRANK

During and after the First World War the interest for Turcica in Germany was enormous. Considering the nearly complete absence of Turcologists working on a full-time basis at Universities, the increasing demand in surveys and translations of Modern Turkish Literature was fulfilled by Orientalists (such as Horn, Frank, Merx, M. Hartmann, Schrader), dilettanti (Hachtmann, Seidel, Szamatolski, Kaufmann) and native speakers (Ahmed Muhideddin, Habib Edib). My article attempts to give a general idea of the beginnings of writing and translating contemporary Turkish literature in Germany. My contribution concentrates on Paul Horn, Otto Hachtmann and Carl Frank but touches also on lesser known German pioneers of Turcology.

AYFER TUNÇ’UN “MEMLEKET HIKÂYELERI” ADLI

Ayfer Tunc, who has works in story and novel genres is one of the most important writers of Contemporary Turkish Literature. Her first story book is Sakli (1989) and her last book is Memleket Hikâyeleri (2012). Ayfer Tunc’s Hometown Stories, which makes reference to Refik Halit with both its name and context, is different from its kinds. In this work which is a mixture of article and story there are both findings and stories on the idea of national, being from the same national, rural life. This work which makes reference to Refik Halit’s Memleket Hikâyeleri consists of three parts including Memleket Yazilari, Fotograflar Anlatiyor, Memleket Hikâyeleri. In this book, which is written on the sense of rural, fascism of ordinary people, and our approach to history, incidents took place mostly in Istanbul, Karasu and Sakarya unlike Refik Halit’s work. Characters that represent different geographies enriched the character staff as well as contributing to the spatial depth in the story even though the spatial universe seems to be narrow. Therefore this work reflects the social stratum extensively. There are many interesting human types from the Black Sea to Ankara, from Luleburgaz to Istanbul, from all corners of the country and all kind of social stratums brought together by Ayfer Tunc in her Memleket Hikâyeleri. Characters in the book lived mostly in Sakarya, Karasu, Black Sea and Erzurum, and the incidents took place in these settings.

Inside Turkish Literature: Concerns, References, and Themes

This critical survey inquiry into contemporary Turkish literature is inclusive rather than exhaustive and focuses on a number of concerns, themes, and repeated references in Turkish social relations. After noting earlier developments in Turkish literature, this article then proceeds to examine these repeated references, themes, and concerns of modern Turkish authors, poets, and dramatists and their texts. Turks in other literature is another topic for consideration, followed by a final section that concludes with the referencing of modern Turkish poets.