This article attempts to identify and shed light on the socialist realism aesthetics in the Turkish literature in the case of "Tirpan” (Scythe) novel by the prominent Turkish writer Fakir Baykurt. Whilst in the USSR literature this type of genre was encouraged by the very state as an important tool to form and maintain public unanimity, in the Turkish literature, to the contrast, socialist realism was treated and regarded as a source of dissent. The Turkish literary studies do not entail a clear definition within the frames of the Turkish literature, often confusing it with a movement of social realism. The socialist realism should be traced in the works of left-wing Turkish writers, profoundly influenced by the Soviet literature and its ideological and aesthetic traits. The most explicit distinction of Baykurt’s “Tirpan” from the USSR literature lies in a different artistic and aesthetic presentation of the key categories of socialist poetics. A particular interest concerns the folklore stylization of the novel within the socialist realist paradigm. The article also attempts to establish a connection between the work of F. Baikurt and M. Gorky. In the light of the above, the incorporation of the Turkish Marxist revolutionary character in the plot is an interesting addition by the author. It is believed that according to the original intention of the author, the novel should have been called "Sickle". However, in a fear of censorship, and due to obvious analogy with communist symbolism, the title was changed to "Scythe". In this case, the very title of the novel has an ideological message. The article highlights the great theoretical value of the Turkish literature studies in the general research of this phenomenon in literature.
The socialist realism discourse in the context of the turkish literature formation in “Tirpan” (scythe) novel by Fakir Baykurt
Keywords: socialist realism, Turkish literature, Fakir Baykurt, novel "Scythe", Song of the Falcon, folklore stylization, Turkish Marxist revolutionary
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