Traces of Underground Literature in Altay Öktem's Novels
Altay Öktem’in Romanlarında Yeraltı Edebiyatının İzleri

Author : Fethi DEMİR
Number of pages : 149-173

Abstract

The Underground narrative is a literature in which all kinds of illegal acts, immoral behaviors take place, sexuality, violence is described with a nihilist, anarchist and fundamentalist approach and in terms of style, argon, coarseness is used without any censorship. Although some examples have been encountered before, underground literature in Turkey only occurs after the 90s. In this context, underground literature in Turkey appeares only after the September 12 Coup, which was the milestone of the country's inclusion into global capitalism. Especially since the mid-90s, the social structure, which has suppressed the trauma caused by the September 12, finds itself in another social atmosphere with the impact of integrating into global capitalism. The complications caused by private life being moved to the public sphere, marginal lives and discourses becoming more visible, urbanization, alienation, otherization, violence, and inequity in distribution of income reveal an Underground Literature that opposes itself beyond the canonical literature. Underground literature, which manifests itself in the form of fanzins and forums, attracts the attention of many publishers during this period. In this context, one of the prominent authors is Altay Öktem. Although Öktem does not consider himself as an Underground author, he makes important contributions to the development of the genre in Turkey through his novels, poems, essays and studies, especially his thoughts about Underground Literature. Altay öktem also establishes a publisher publishing works in Underground Literature. Despite all these important contributions, Öktem's works cannot be fully evaluated in underground literature. In other words, the novels of Öktem, containing some of the characteristics of underground literature, are the original narratives that are influenced by genres such as dystopia, whodunit, sci-fi, fantasy, modern, psychoanalytic and postmodern.

Keywords

Underground Literature, Underground Literature in Turkey, Altay Öktem, Novel.

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