TÜRK EDEBİYATINDA NECATİ CUMALI, BALKANLAR VE VİRAN DAĞLAR ROMANI

Abstract

Necati Cumalı enters the stage in Turkish literature in 1939 after the publication of his first pieces ofpoetry. That is during the 2nd WW. He was obviously influenced by the Garip Movement althoughhe was not a part of it. His verse in this period has neither rhyme nor meter. Daily life is the subject of his poetry. He remains as simple in his poetry as in his novels; this is the reason I believe we can not identify him with any school or movement and study him as such. Cumalı sets his literary ground, in addition to his verse, by stories, novels, plays and screenplays. His expression in his work is simple, easy and free of garnish. As he lets’ love and life take their natural course he shapes his own work hand in hand with tradition and customs. In his novels, he pictures the vivacity of real life, its briskness as well as local motifs, personalities and his homeland in all its colors. Viran Dağlar (Rugged Mountains) he wrote between 1991-1994 opens with the life of a plain country man, Şaban from Biliste; and we start a journey through the pages of history. He emphasizes concepts of place, space and time as he also reminds us of others such as war, devastation, brutality, agony of wounded soldiers and death. He reflects the character of Zulfikar of Goriçka in tailor Halit’s line of thought; the later being a follower of the French socialist Jean-Jaures. “According to Halit, Zulfikar Bey has roots in a ground that is rotten and has reached the end of its life.” This proposition not only demonstrates a decadent life but a dying empire. Winds of change have taken their course and calm awaits after chaos and war. The characters of the novel take us, as the writer puts it, ‘with their courage, honesty and affection,’ and with war, love and intricate emotions to Florina, Kastoria, Thesalloniki, Prilep, and back to the lines of history