“A Forgotten Age Leftover”: A Research On Mübeccel İzmirli
Yağmur Yıldırımay BayrakçıMübeccel İzmirli (1934–1982) was an author who is known for her contribution to Turkish literature through her stories and poems. Mostly in her poems, Mübeccel İzmirli focused on women’s dissatisfaction, their position in society, their struggle, and also the overall the corruption that exists in society. Writing her stories without isolating herself from society’s socioeconomic situation, she touches upon the problems which women face under socioeconomic circumstances. İzmirli, who does not ignore the problems that social disintegration provokes, tries to be the voice of oppressed women. She also published the magazine Otağ with her friends. Mübeccel İzmirli, whose name did not often appear in the field of literature after the 1970s, published a biography of her friend Atıf Özbilen in 1977. This work had two volumes, titled Mavi Çamlar Ülkesi and Ay Kız ile Gün Oğlan. They introduced children to topics like love, respect, compassion, solidarity, and peace. This article aims to make up a deficiency in literary history by bringing to light Mübeccel İzmirli and her literary works that have been largely forgotten and under-appreciated.
“Unutulmuş Bir Çağ Artığı”: Mübeccel İzmirli Üzerine Bir İnceleme
Yağmur Yıldırımay BayrakçıMübeccel İzmirli (1934-1982), Türk edebiyatına ağırlıklı olarak öykü ve şiir türlerinde eserler kazandırmış yazarlar arasındadır. Bu çalışmada daha önce üzerinde durulmamış olan Mübeccel İzmirli, tüm yönleriyle tanıtılacaktır. En fazla şiir türünde eserler kaleme alan Mübeccel İzmirli, yazdığı şiir ve öykülerinde kadının mutsuzluğuna, toplumdaki yerine, vermek zorunda kaldığı mücadeleye ve toplumsal hayattaki yozlaşmaya odaklanmıştır. Öykülerinde, yaşadığı toplumun sosyoekonomik durumundan kendini soyutlamadan öykülerini yazan Mübeccel İzmirli, bu ortamda kadınların yaşadığı sorunlara değinir. Toplumsal hayattaki çözülmelerin kadının hayatında yarattığı sıkıntıları görmezden gelmeyen İzmirli, kadınların sesi olmaya çalışır. Şiirlerinde de kadının iç dünyasını anlatmaya çalışan İzmirli, hayal kırıklıklarının şairi olarak belirir. Öykü ve şiir kitabı dışında, bir biyografi kitabı, iki çocuk kitabı olan Mübeccel İzmirli, arkadaşlarıyla birlikte Otağ adında bir de dergi çıkarmıştır. 1970’li yıllardan sonra edebiyat sahasında ismini pek sık göremediğimiz İzmirli, 1977 yılında arkadaşı Âtıf Özbilen hakkında bir biyografi kitabı yayımlar. Klasik bir biyografi metninden uzak olan kitapta İzmirli, Özbilen’i kendi düşünceleriyle anlatır. Mavi Çamlar Ülkesi ve Ay Kız ile Gün Oğlan adındaki kitaplar, çocuklara sevgi, saygı, merhamet, yardımlaşma, barış gibi konularda bilgi verici niteliktedir. Bu makalenin amacı, Türk edebiyatında değeri bilinmeyen, kenarda kalan isimlerinden biri olan Mübeccel İzmirli ve çalışmalarını gün yüzünü çıkarmak, edebiyat tarihindeki bir eksikliği tamamlamaktır.
Mübeccel İzmirli, who was born in Çorlu in 1934, came to İstanbul from Çorlu at a young age with her mother after her parents got divorced. After graduating from Çapa Kız Ortaokulu, she could not attend high school due to health problems. Continuing her education through private lessons, she became curious about poetry and her poems were published in local magazines. Also, she worked as a personnel officer and a secretary to earn money.
The earliest poem of Mübeccel İzmirli that I could find titled “İstifham” was published in the Aksekililer newspaper in 1955. In the 1960s, the name of Mübeccel İzmirli, whose interest in literature was gradually increasing, appeared in various magazines and she published her first book, Gök Katında Kaza, in 1963. Other than the forty-five poems in Gök Katında Kaza, twelve of her poems were published in various magazines and nine were unpublished. Featuring the feelings of women in her poems, İzmirli was inspired by art history from time to time and chose the metaphors she used in her works from this sphere. Once again, the poets of folk poetry and poems belong to them, and elements referring to nature became the main source of her poems.
In 1963, İsmet Kemal Karadayı came together with Mehmet Haşmet and İsmet Yazgan to publish the magazine Otağ, and İzmirli took charge of almost all the work of the magazine. Otağ, which was an “art–thought–education” magazine, published different genres like poetry, essays, stories, articles, criticisms, interviews, and translated poems/stories. The magazine, which included young poets as well as established names and informed the reader about the developments in the world of art and literature, stopped being published after its 15th issue. After managing the magazine for that time frame, İzmirli became the editor of the Yelken and Çatı magazines between 1966 and1969.
Mübeccel İzmirli’s book of short stories titled Sabah Geçidi was published in 1967. Apart from the six stories in this book, four more stories were published in various magazines. İzmirli tried narrative techniques like internal monologue and stream of consciousness to portray the position of women in society. Shewas also influenced by “anxiety literature” created out of the existentialist movement that had its roots in mid-20th century French literature.
Mübeccel İzmirli, whose name was not seen often in the field of literature after the 1970s, published the biography of her friend Atıf Özbilen in 1977. In the book, which is far from being a traditional biography, İzmirli tells us about Özbilen using her own thoughts. While doing so, she makes use of a conversation with Özbilen. This short work of forty pages was supported by the visuals of Özbilen’s works.
Mübeccel İzmirli also wrote two children’s books, one of which was published after her death. These books, titled Mavi Çamlar Ülkesi and Ay Kız ile Gün Oğlan, introduce children to themes like love, respect, compassion, solidarity, and peace. In Mavi Çamlar Ülkesi she portrayed these topics by using Surrealist narrative techniques, while in Ay Kız ile Gün Oğlan the narrative progresses through a love story.
Between the years 1962 and 1982, Mübeccel İzmirli also wrote literary articles in magazines but did not go beyond fiction except for a few essays. Most of the works of İzmirli, whose 35 articles I have found in the magazines Ataç, Otağ, Çatı, Varlık, Yelken, Yeni İnsan, and Yeni Ufuklar, consist of interviews with various authors. Other than these, there are book reviews and essays.
An intestinal disease that Mübeccel İzmirli caught while in her middle-school years stayed with her throughout her life. Since she needed to work in different jobs to earn money, she could not produce too much literary works. Nevertheless, Mübeccel İzmirli cemented her place in Turkish literature as a writer who touched upon the problems of her time through her works. This article will also include the life, books, and works in periodicals of İzmirli, who has not previously been studied comprehensively.
