Identification and Examination of Balkan Immigrant Literary Representatives and Their Works Who Lived/Living in Izmir
Project no. 29701 · Status: Kapanmış · 2023
Summary
<p>Many of the poets and writers who immigrated to Turkey from the Balkans started their literary activities in the Balkan countries and continued these activities to a significant extent in Turkey. The influence and recognition of the literary production in question remained limited in immigrant circles and could not reach the general Turkish reader to a large extent. No academic study has yet been conducted to examine this literary presence in the Balkans and Turkey with a holistic approach.</p><p> Balkan Turks have suffered from wars, civil unrest, socio-cultural pressures, etc. since the late 19th century. The major migration movements that took place for reasons such as these were mostly to Turkey. In this context, poets and writers of Balkan origin in Turkey have created an immigrant/exile literature that is nourished by immigration and migration-related problems and includes original characteristics over time. It is known that Balkan immigrants have concentrated in certain cities in Turkey since the first migrations. The Balkan immigrant population in Turkey is mainly in Istanbul, Izmir, Bursa, Kocaeli, Tekirdağ etc. are located in cities. With this project, the biographies and works of Balkan-born literary figures who live or lived in Izmir were identified and examined, and in the sample texts section of the study, examples of Balkan-Izmir themed literary works summarizing the subject were presented to the attention of the scientific community.</p><p>The presence of Balkan immigrants in Izmir constitutes an important element in the cultural identity of the city. With the project, the place of the literary production in question in the cultural existence of the city was revealed collectively for the first time through literary representatives and their works. It is expected that this study, specific to a city, will set an example in terms of applicability to other cities with a high immigrant profile, and this will make a significant contribution to studies on the literary presence of Balkan immigrants throughout Turkey. The common Turkish literary circle covering the Balkans and Anatolia dispersed with the establishment of new states in the region at the beginning of the 20th century, and literary relations between Anatolia and Balkan Turks became quite limited. With this project study, the Turkish literary environment and relations that were formed with the migrations in the Balkans and Anatolia in the 20th century were revealed for the first time in the context of their representatives and works, and specifically in Izmir.</p>