Uluslararası Toplumsal Bilimler Dergisi

Yazarlar: Neshen GYUNANOVA ISAEVA-GYUNESH

Konular:Beşeri Bilimler, Ortak Disiplinler

Anahtar Kelimeler:Turkish Immigration Poetry,Displacement,Home,Belonging,In-Betweenness

Özet: Since home for the displaced immigrant is simultaneously ‘here’ and ‘there’, in the present and in the past, the following paper discusses how the forcefully deported from Bulgaria to Turkey immigrants in 1989 deal with the existential dilemma of belonging in the Turkish immigration poetry. Both places: The Republic of Turkey – the home of ethnic, linguistic and cultural roots and Bulgaria – the natal homeland of youth, sacred memories and belongings are of emotional significance for the immigrants. Facing the challenge of the physical impossibility to be simultaneously ‘here’ and ‘there’, the immigrants indulge in daydreams in the imaginary spaces of memories. The poems are approached in the context of the Turkish immigration literature and the theoretical frameworks of Yi-Fu Tuan’s book Space and Place: The Perspective of Experience and John McLeon’s work Diaspora Identities. The main focus of the paper is the representation of the liminal spaces of the immigrants’ imagination. Themselves immigrants, Zahit Güney and Latif Ali Yıldırım, the two poets whose poems are analysed, express deep understanding of the immigrants’ experiences. With the use of figurative language, they draw vivid scenes of their everyday lives, thoughts and feelings; with artistry imply their longings for the far away homelands and address universal themes such as the notions of belonging and nostalgia. Although the theme of migration has been popular for decades; surprisingly, there is scarcely anything written about the Turkish immigration literature. This paper sheds light on the importance of discussing the works of migrant authors such as Zahit Güney and Latif Ali Yıldırım, not only because their poetry is pleasurable to read but also because they have unique approaches to fundamental themes.

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