{"id":13319,"date":"2017-03-14T21:08:44","date_gmt":"2017-03-14T18:08:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.oguztansel.org\/?p=13319"},"modified":"2017-06-18T23:06:36","modified_gmt":"2017-06-18T20:06:36","slug":"kemal-ozer-oguz-tanselin-bendeki-goruntusu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.oguztansel.org\/en\/kemal-ozer-oguz-tanselin-bendeki-goruntusu\/","title":{"rendered":"Kemal \u00d6ZER, O\u011eUZ TANSEL\u2019S IMPRESSION ON ME"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kemal \u00d6ZER<\/strong><\/p>\n

Translated by \u00dclk\u00fcn Tansel<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Turkish poetry writing which gained momentum following the proclamation of the<\/p>\n

Republic- entered a phase of change \/ transformation manifesting itself both in literary<\/p>\n

life as well as in social life of the 1940s. This change \/ transformation is partly related to<\/p>\n

the disillusionment in the expectations fostered by the Republic. Labor world has not<\/p>\n

been able to receive the place it deserves in the social and political sense. The<\/p>\n

enthusiasm of the founding years did not result in a thrust that would carry workers<\/p>\n

ahead. On the contrary it reduced the share they received and increased their burden.<\/p>\n

The literature \u2013with poetry in the lead- has not remained indifferent to this change \/<\/p>\n

transformation. As the 1940s are approached, the evolutionary phase which the country<\/p>\n

entered into, assumed new dimensions due to the introduction of a big external factor.<\/p>\n

The Second World War widens yet further the artistic awareness which already has<\/p>\n

gained momentum along with the humanitarian expectations it introduced to the world of<\/p>\n

labor. Naz\u0131m Hikmet standing at the focal point of this artistic awareness is in jail and<\/p>\n

poetry itself is under siege both in the political and artistic sense.<\/p>\n

Poetry is under siege politically; because, obstacles are placed on its path of<\/p>\n

expression. It is surrounded by sanctions and limits. At the same time, it is under siege<\/p>\n

artistically; because, beginning with the 1940s the Garip movement has emerged and it<\/p>\n

has placed an artistic limitation on poetry which, due to the awareness of the labor<\/p>\n

world, had assumed a function.<\/p>\n

2<\/p>\n

Thus, during the 1940s, the representatives of this poetry under double siege are going<\/p>\n

through a process of self assertion on the one hand, and a process of self development<\/p>\n

on the other. O\u011fuz Tansel is one of those poets that we encounter at this point. This<\/p>\n

phase of change \/ transition not only brings sanctions and limits on these poets in<\/p>\n

having their say; but it also obliges them to put inevitable limitations on self-<\/p>\n

development.<\/p>\n

As the number one under artistic limitations, stands the necessity of remaining distant to<\/p>\n

the Garip movement. Another requirement is to remain outside the sphere of influence<\/p>\n

of the Naz\u0131m Hikmet poetry. In between these limiting ends, the themes remaining for<\/p>\n

the 1940 generation of poets are, events within the country, their reflections on the<\/p>\n

individuals and themes concerning the Second World War.<\/p>\n

Avoidances and making use of the available, results inevitably in common styles of<\/p>\n

expression and common content. When we look at O\u011fuz Tansel\u2019s poetry, we see that<\/p>\n

he is one of those poets who moves most, outside of the aforementioned general<\/p>\n

picture.<\/p>\n

The similitudes in style and sound caused by the general use of four line stanzas is<\/p>\n

overcome in O\u011fuz Tansel\u2019s poetry through a punctuated yet fluent sound arrangement.<\/p>\n

One does not also, come across often a stereotyped content resulting from such<\/p>\n

grouping of stanzas. This is because, he is able to view the society in which he lives<\/p>\n

and the people of this society with his own eyes and express his observations in a<\/p>\n

unique style. In his poem titled \u201cMen\u201d he is able to say the following lines for instance:<\/p>\n

\u201cOne among them who discovered the sun inside him \/Like a mountain clearing off the<\/p>\n

haze \/ Rose and spoke thunder-like: \/ \u201cResignation does not become us!\u201d<\/p>\n

Reflecting a political stance and the humanitarian essence is yet another source for<\/p>\n

similitude. But O\u011fuz Tansel knows how to avoid such similitude as well. In his poem<\/p>\n

3<\/p>\n

titled \u201cRoad\u201d he shall say: \u201cThis is the pavement of rain and sun \/ Speed son, without<\/p>\n

letting the boss know \/ Lest they\u2019ll let you grasp fire for gold \/ Forget not to add coolant<\/p>\n

to the engine\u201d<\/p>\n

As for similutude in the images he avoids them through his own sketches as in his poem<\/p>\n

titled \u201cA Man and the Child\u201d : \u201cA glitter of joy cast light onto my way \/ A man, a woman<\/p>\n

with son on her shoulder \/ Seemingly well clothed in dark of the night \/ Kept striding on\u201d<\/p>\n

Among his metaphors, some noteworthy examples occasionally stand out such as, \u201cThe<\/p>\n

sky, a big Seljuk tile,\u201d or \u201cThe marketplace mirrors every occupation.\u201d An original<\/p>\n

reference to commoner\u2019s usage such as: \u201cA healthy head will not abide the pillow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sometimes a shaking warning to the reader such as \u201cWhy have we not built a hospital<\/p>\n

for the birds?\u201d<\/p>\n

These observations which we have based on his early works like Savrulmay\u0131 Bekleyen<\/p>\n

Harman and G\u00f6z\u00fcn\u00fc Sevdi\u011fim indicate to us that he is a poet who in this early phase<\/p>\n

was keen to reflect the realities of life and be his original self as he bear witness to the<\/p>\n

society and the era in which he lives and avoid and overcome similitudes through his<\/p>\n

unique vision and style of expression. What bestows him this difference is, no doubt, his<\/p>\n

love and affinity for the common people and carrying this to such a level as to be able to<\/p>\n

think and feel together with them.<\/p>\n

In his second artistic phase when he faces us with his volume Da\u011f\u0131 \u00d6pmeler O\u011fuz<\/p>\n

Tansel further develops this characteristic not with every day realities but through<\/p>\n

universal themes, when particularly the serial poems Bilitis and K\u0131ndam are taken into<\/p>\n

consideration. In this development the concept of motherland is not reflected solely in<\/p>\n

political terms; but it envelops all the wealth which the homeland has accumulated and<\/p>\n

gained throughout history.<\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

Getting to know the motherland, assuming its possession becomes equivalent to<\/p>\n

embracing all that wealth. As for those elements of the commoner\u2019s creativity<\/p>\n

contributing to the language and expression, they are \u2013other than being put to<\/p>\n

occasional use- simply elevated to the level of a poetic language and style of<\/p>\n

expression.<\/p>\n

Thus O\u011fuz Tansel, transforms his artistic odyssey upon which he embarks during an<\/p>\n

epoch of change and transition, into a personal epoch of change and transition.<\/p>\n

This essay is the text of the speech delivered by Kemal \u00d6zer during the memorial<\/p>\n

meeting titled \u201cO\u011fuz Tansel, the Poet of Peace\u201d at the Middle East Technical<\/p>\n

University\u2019s Cultural and Convention Center, Kemal Kurda\u015f Auditorium, on December 7,<\/p>\n

2007.<\/p>\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kemal \u00d6ZER Translated by \u00dclk\u00fcn Tansel   Turkish poetry writing which gained momentum following the proclamation of the Republic- entered a phase of change \/ transformation manifesting itself both in literary life as well as in social life of the 1940s. This change \/ transformation is partly related to the disillusionment in the expectations fostered […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[64],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oguztansel.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13319"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oguztansel.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oguztansel.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oguztansel.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oguztansel.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13319"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.oguztansel.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13319\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13444,"href":"https:\/\/www.oguztansel.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13319\/revisions\/13444"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oguztansel.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oguztansel.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oguztansel.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}