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Turkey
Sheila Ray
Folk-tales and epics have been told in Turkey as long as they have been told elsewhere
and the humorous tales about the Hodja, for example, are enjoyed by children
worldwide. The history of Turkish children’s literature goes back to the ‘Tanzimat’
(Reform) period between 1839 and 1876, when Turkish society was Europeanised.
Authors typical of this early period are Caylak Tevfik (1843–1892), Ahmet Mithat Efendi
(1844–1912) and Şemsettin Sami (1850–1904).
At the beginning of the twentieth century, when books for children were required to
support educational developments, the need for a Turkish written language based on
the vernacular became increasingly urgent. The spread of children’s books, particularly
amongst the poorer classes, was hindered by the use of the Arabic alphabet which has
few vowels and does not suit the Turkish language which has many. The modern
Turkish Republic dates from 1923 when it came into being under the leadership of
President Kemal Ataturk. A Turkish alphabet, based on the Roman one, was adopted in
1928 and this helped the fight against illiteracy although progress was slow and the
problems have not yet been entirely overcome.
However, children’s literature did begin to develop, albeit slowly, after 1928, with
authors like Ahmet Rasim (1864–1932) and Ziya Gökalp (1876–1924). Ali Ulvi Elöue
(1881–1975) produced some of the first Turkish poetry written especially for children;
the main themes of his work are freedom, patriotism and the heroism of the Turkish
people. Writers of stories, who later included Elfâtun Cem Güney and Peyani Safa, used
folk-tales and legends but also wrote about everyday life. There was praise for the new
republic but little criticism of conditions; literature mainly reflected life in the towns and
cities and there were few stories about the harsher conditions in rural areas.
Turkey’s European links have in one sense hindered rather than helped the
development of children’s literature—Turkey (and other Middle Eastern countries) have
been flooded by poorly produced translations of European and American books, the
settings and characters of which bear little relationship to the experiences of local
children.
By 1950, when a multi-party political system was introduced in Turkey, there were
signs of changes in the content of books for young people. Themes such as the fight for
freedom, the problems of farmers and the differences between poor and rich began to
appear. Poets like Nasim Hikmet (1902–1963) and the humorist Aziz Nesin (1915–) were
pioneers of this new kind of literature. Talip Apaydin (1926–) and Fakir Baykurt (1929–),