Metin Kaçan
Encyclopedia
Metin Kaçan is a Turkish author
who is best known for his novel
s Ağır Roman (Cholera Street), and Fındık Sekiz. Ağır Roman has been translated into German
(Kaçan 2003), and a movie (Ağır Roman), directed by Mustafa Altıoklar
(1999), was based on it. Kaçan is also the author of a collection of short stories, "A ship to the Islands" (Adalara Vapur, Kaçan 2002), and a book written in a mixed style between prose and
poetry, entitled "The tiger at Withdrawal" (Harman Kaplan, Kaçan 1999).
Much of Kaçan's writings deals with life in Istanbul
, in particular its poor quarter Dolapdere
(not far from Taksim square). To Dolapdere, he sarcastically gave the name "Cholera
" (Kolera in Turkish)
in Ağır Roman, thereby recalling both its shabbiness and the fact that the greatest Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz
died there from the cholera in 1855. Mickiewicz´ museum at Dolapdere, still open to visitors today, figures in "Ağır Roman". The title of this novel plays ingeniously with the polysemy
of the Turkish
word Roman, which means both
"gypsy" and "novel
". Also, together with the adjective ağır, which means "heavy" or "slow" in Turkish, Roman is the designation for a special kind of street music
, played by some of the novel's protagonists.
Ağır Roman tells the tragic story of a young hero who grows up in Cholera quarter but finally fails and commits suicide
. His failure parallels the failure of the quarter itself, whose ancient structures as well as its multi-ethnic and multi-religious composition disintegrate.
Fındık Sekiz tells a story about two cars, that appear sometimes as personified figures, and that take the semi-autobiographical protagonist Meto on a mystical journey. At the same time, Meto's conflict with a woman, who manages to have him thrown into prison
through fraudulent statements, is related, which might reflect some of Kaçan's own experiences.
Kaçan's style is heavily imbued with Turkish slang, which is called argo in Turkish (< French argot). This choice gives his writings a non-conformistic, frequently vulgar, but overall extremely vivid and creative tone, which has been hailed, among others, by Yıldız Ecevit. Other characteristics of his writing are the personification of natural phenomena
and inanimate items such as cars (in particular in Fındık Sekiz), autobiographical details (Kaçan grew up in Dolapdere), the blurring of the limitations of poetry and prose, and references
to mysticism, in particular Muslim mysticism (Sufism). His best-selling novel,Ağır Roman is going to be translated to French by Actes Sud in 2010.
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
who is best known for his novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s Ağır Roman (Cholera Street), and Fındık Sekiz. Ağır Roman has been translated into German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
(Kaçan 2003), and a movie (Ağır Roman), directed by Mustafa Altıoklar
Mustafa Altioklar
Mustafa Altıoklar is a Turkish film director, producer and screenwriter.He was born in Ankara, Turkey in 1958. His childhood house overlooked a projection room, owned by the Board of Censors, where the members of the board were cutting the films...
(1999), was based on it. Kaçan is also the author of a collection of short stories, "A ship to the Islands" (Adalara Vapur, Kaçan 2002), and a book written in a mixed style between prose and
poetry, entitled "The tiger at Withdrawal" (Harman Kaplan, Kaçan 1999).
Much of Kaçan's writings deals with life in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, in particular its poor quarter Dolapdere
Dolapdere
Dolapdere is a quarter of Beyoğlu district in central Istanbul, Turkey. It is surrounded by the quarters of Taksim, Kasımpaşa, Pangaltı and Kurtuluş.-Sites:...
(not far from Taksim square). To Dolapdere, he sarcastically gave the name "Cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
" (Kolera in Turkish)
in Ağır Roman, thereby recalling both its shabbiness and the fact that the greatest Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz
Adam Mickiewicz
Adam Bernard Mickiewicz ) was a Polish poet, publisher and political writer of the Romantic period. One of the primary representatives of the Polish Romanticism era, a national poet of Poland, he is seen as one of Poland's Three Bards and the greatest poet in all of Polish literature...
died there from the cholera in 1855. Mickiewicz´ museum at Dolapdere, still open to visitors today, figures in "Ağır Roman". The title of this novel plays ingeniously with the polysemy
Polysemy
Polysemy is the capacity for a sign or signs to have multiple meanings , i.e., a large semantic field.Charles Fillmore and Beryl Atkins’ definition stipulates three elements: the various senses of a polysemous word have a central origin, the links between these senses form a network, and ...
of the Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
word Roman, which means both
"gypsy" and "novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
". Also, together with the adjective ağır, which means "heavy" or "slow" in Turkish, Roman is the designation for a special kind of street music
Street Music
Street Music is the fourth album by Defari, an American hip hop musician who is also part of the Likwit Crew. The album features regular collaborators Evidence, J-Ro, E-Swift, The Alchemist and DJ Babu, the latter Defari's partner in the Likwit Junkies....
, played by some of the novel's protagonists.
Ağır Roman tells the tragic story of a young hero who grows up in Cholera quarter but finally fails and commits suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. His failure parallels the failure of the quarter itself, whose ancient structures as well as its multi-ethnic and multi-religious composition disintegrate.
Fındık Sekiz tells a story about two cars, that appear sometimes as personified figures, and that take the semi-autobiographical protagonist Meto on a mystical journey. At the same time, Meto's conflict with a woman, who manages to have him thrown into prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
through fraudulent statements, is related, which might reflect some of Kaçan's own experiences.
Kaçan's style is heavily imbued with Turkish slang, which is called argo in Turkish (< French argot). This choice gives his writings a non-conformistic, frequently vulgar, but overall extremely vivid and creative tone, which has been hailed, among others, by Yıldız Ecevit. Other characteristics of his writing are the personification of natural phenomena
and inanimate items such as cars (in particular in Fındık Sekiz), autobiographical details (Kaçan grew up in Dolapdere), the blurring of the limitations of poetry and prose, and references
to mysticism, in particular Muslim mysticism (Sufism). His best-selling novel,Ağır Roman is going to be translated to French by Actes Sud in 2010.
Literature by Metin Kaçan
- Kaçan 2005. Kaçan,Metin: Cervantesin Yeğeni. Istanbul: Can Yayınları.
- Kaçan 1995. Kaçan, Metin: Ağır Roman. Istanbul: Can Yayınları.
- Kaçan 1997. Kaçan, Metin: Fındık sekiz. Istanbul: Can Yayınları.
- Kaçan 1999. Kaçan, Metin: Harman Kaplan. Istanbul: Can Yayınları.
- Kaçan 2002. Kaçan, Metin: Adalara Vapur. Istanbul: Can Yayınları.
- Kaçan 2003. Kaçan, Metin: Cholera Blues. Berlin: Dağyeli.
- Kaçan 1991. Kaçan,Metin,Aratan,Kemal: İstedikleri yere gidenler. Istanbul: Joker Yayınları.
- Kaçan 1989. Nickname: Jaklaban-Andante: Graffiti. Istanbul: Joker Yayınları.
- Kaçan 2008. Kaçan,Metin: Haselnuss 8. Berlin,Dağyeli.
Literature about Metin Kaçan
- Hess 1998a. Hess, Michael Reinhard: Ağır Roman. Istanbuler Almanach 2 (1998). 64-66.
- Hess 1998b. Hess, Michael Reinhard: A Glance at the Wilder Side of Turkey: Ağır Roman. Orientalia Suecana 67 (1998). 55-67.
- Ecevit 2004. Ecevit, Yıldız: Türk Romanında Postmodernist Açılımlar [Postmodern Tendencies in the Turkish novel]. 3rd ed. Istanbul: Iletisim Yayınları.
- Hess 2005. Hess, Michael Reinhard: The Turkish Car Novel on a Trip: fındık sekiz by Metin Kaçan. Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde des Morgenlandes 95 (2005). 87-118.