Abstract
LAKE VAN IN MODERN TURKISH POETRY
The inclusion of Anatolia as a subject in literary texts began partially during the final period of the Ottoman Empire. The abstract, non-descriptive patterns of classical poetry do not explicitly incorporate place and people into the text. In modern literary genres, however, the realist approach and description have been significant elements until recent times. The effort to establish a national literary tradition also brings with it the recognition and promotion of Anatolia. Poets and writers begin to understand and describe Anatolia as a place, its people, and its society. This article examines the reflection of a provincial city in the poetry of nationally recognized and widely read poets. The poets and poems included in anthologies, as well as poets and poems not included in anthologies and identified through literature review, were examined. Names and texts were evaluated according to the elements of Van and Lake Van, which were the context of the study. Content analysis and poetry analysis were the main methods of examination. Van Lake and Van were added to the national canon as a result of the poets' short and long visits. Only one of the poets examined settled in Van and lived there. Van Lake and Van were reflected in the poets' texts more through representation than description.
Keywords
Poetry, Anatolia, provincial, Van Lake, Van.