A POLITICAL APPROACH TO SEZAI KARAKOC’S “LITERARY WRITINGS”

Abstract

Sezai Karakoç (1933 - ) is one of the most important living figures of Turkish thought and
literature. In the context of literature, he is primarily at the forefront of his poetry. But in addition to
poetry, he also put out various studies in different fields of literature and thought, such as stories,
plays, essays, reviews, translations. It can be seen that Sezai Karakoç almost all of his works
contain literature and art topics in a broader sense, for various occasions. In other words, his view
especially poetry, literature and art, are spread over a wide range of books. However, although this
is the case, there is also a three-book “Literary Writings” series that collects Karakoç’s approaches
to art and literature.
The author analyzes Turkish and world literature in his “Literature Writings.” It is seen that various
political issues, especially civilization, Turkish-Islamic civilization, political currents, ideologies,
social-political transformations, religions, historical-sociological issues, political regimes, are
covered in these analyses. In 1960, the thinker started publishing a thought and art journal called
‘Resurrection.’ The Resurrection continued to exist in various forms until the early 1990s,
sometimes with short and sometimes with long cycles and chapters. It should be said that the
journal is a long-term, fertile and nutritious school for the Turkish world of art, literature and
thought. It should also be noted that the Resurrection as a concept is a kind of sign and determinant
for Karakoç to express his own thoughts, especially his own understanding of Islamic civilitazion.
In addition to its direct political determinations, Karakoç also makes political determinations in
indirect ways in evaluating notable literary and thought names such as Mehmet Akif, Yahya Kemal
and Necip Fazıl Kısakürek. Both his “Literary Writings” and his other studies are among the
concrete indicators of why he is not only a well-known man of letters, but also one of the most
respected thinkers of Turkey. The purpose of this reviews is to examine Sezai Karakoç’s “Literary
Writings” from a political point of view. A qualitative approach, not a quantitative one, was adopted
as a method in the study. Documentary research has been conducted. It was thought that the data
that will be revealed may be the findings that will accelerate the interdisciplinary studies in various
fields of knowledge from literature to political science.