Kurds in Turkish Literature

Rohat Alakom's book "Kurds in Turkish Literature" was published by Avesta Publications. The expanded and revised third edition also includes a new section titled "Bloody Years in Turkish Novel (1980-2000)", which deals with Turkish novels about the Kurdish war.

Martin van Bruinessen makes the following observations in his foreword to the book: “While reading this review by Rohat Alakom, we see that there is very interesting information and comments about Kurds and Kurdistan in Turkish literature. Some topics are emphasized more than other topics. Turkish writers seem blind to some politically sensitive issues. This review is organized not according to the time when the novels and stories were written, but according to the time and events that are the subject. With this approach, the researcher aims to display the "blind spots" or ideological prejudices and deficiencies of the mentioned works, which the reader can also see. "What is written on the Kurds reveals the mentality and way of thinking of the urban intellectuals of Western Turkey. If we take a different approach than the one chosen by RohatAlakom and chronologically classify the works written during the last century, we can probably detect very interesting developments. Over time, new topics are written, new aspects of old problems are emphasized, events that were forcibly forgotten (or made to be forgotten) gradually return to the consciousness of the society and gain a literary meaning. “As far as I know, this sociological-ideological analysis by Rohat Alakom on Turkish literature is the first example of such studies. Like any first experience, a work may have some strengths and originalities as well as some weaknesses. I myself read this review with great interest. Although I approached some of the author's explanations with another comment, I found the review very useful. I believe that the book will provide an important service to the history of Turkish thought, if not to Kurdish history, by addressing a forgotten subject.”