Turkish Literature

Turkish literature is literary and written texts that were written in Modern Turkish language. A fundamental change occurred in the Turkish language with the adoption of Islam by Turks, and the alphabet also differed. They began using Persian and Arabic due to their influence from Islam. The Turks were interested in Ottoman works written in Arabic script during the Ottoman era, and they printed literary thought influenced by Persian literature, especially Diwan literature. Oral literature continued for a long time in Anatolia where there was already adult literacy, and Diwan literature was not widespread among people with limited education.

The history of Turkish literature (Anatolian) dates back to around 1500 years ago. We find that the oldest known Turkish writings are those of Orkhon located in the Orkhon Valley in central Mongolia in the eighth century. The vocabulary and literary texts accepted by Turks after their entry into Islam are related to genealogy, jurisprudence, history of prophets, and myths starting with Dede Korkut's book in the 15th century, as well as letters, anecdotes, histories, and notes that are one of the forms of prose. As for Turkish folk literature, it has been continuous since ancient times and deals with themes of love and Tekke arms. Various forms of folk literature have been found: riddles, epics, fictional stories, myths, stories, popular examples, verses, expressions, plays.

Turkish Tekke literature reached us through prayer molds, the Prophet's birthday, goddesses, epithets, and rituals. Later, Diwan literature developed alongside folk literature, which is also called classical literature. With the spread of novel writing in the West, a trend towards composition and translation began in Turkish literature from 1800.

National literature is considered to be the literary style that dominated in the early years of the Turkish Republic. The writers published in the Young Pens magazine in their works, folk songs, national songs, and liberation wars, and they criticized the authors of the Tharwat Arts (New Literature) stream who preceded them. Important examples of writers from this era are Yakub Kadri Karaosmanoğlu, Halide Edib Adıvar, and Ömer Seyfettin.

The aspect of nationalism in national literature was reflected in the following era in the form of folk literature and Anatolian literature. During this period, five groups of hija poets and seven torchbearers were established. Later, rural currents and social realism gained strength due to the influence of political wars and the aftermath of World War II, while love literature and Tekke literature gained power due to the influence of modernity.

The language revolution that followed Diwan literature made Turkish language prominent, abandoning Ottoman as a literary genre with changing literary trends. Modern Turkish literature contains all types of literature such as short story, novel, literary criticism, essay, poetry, and drama. While the effects of modernism are generally present, the effects of postmodernism are noticeable to a great extent.

Pre-Islam
Turkish literature before Islam begins with inscriptions carved on stones. Hundreds of texts from the Turk period have been found, which are called eternal stone literature. The largest were Orkhon writings, and there were no written works on paper until the Uyghur era. This period was from the 7th to the 9th centuries. In the 9th century, Turkish works written in the form of books belonging to the Khaganate of the Uyghurs appeared, and during this period, many primitive forms of Turkish literature emerged. According to Rashid Rahmati Aarati, Juk Turk writings predated those of the Uyghurs, and there are writings for Juk Turks.

Turkish literature continued in the form of manuscripts until the 19th century, when printing began. The first Turkish novel was written by Recaizade Mahmud Ekrem in 1876.