Hasan Ali Toptaş

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Hasan Ali Toptaş
Born (1958-10-15) 15 October 1958 (age 65)
Çal, Turkey
OccupationNovelist, short story writer
Period1987–present
GenreModernism, postmodernism

Hasan Ali Toptaş (born 15 October 1958) is a prominent

modernist" and calls him "a Kafka in Turkish literature", in her work Türk Romanında Postmodernist Açılımlar (The Postmodernist Expansion in Turkish Literature).[2]

Allegations of sexual misconduct

On 8 December 2020, Toptaş was accused of sexual misconduct by a number of users on Twitter. On TRT 2's program Karalama Defteri, which was presented by Doğan Hızlan, Toptaş's opinion of translators were shared and criticized by some scholars. In episode 37 of the program which was broadcast in November 2019, Toptaş faced criticism after making a connection between the age of translators and their choice of words.[3] A part of this episode was later shared on Twitter in 2020, to which a woman replied, "How many people are eagerly waiting for this man to be exposed? I and many of my friends have unpleasant memories of him from our university years. If I had the current consciousness and courage I would definitely speak up. The classic middle-aged man of letters. Really a disappointment." After this comment nearly 20 women shared their experiences of harassment by Toptaş.[4]

Writer Pelin Buzluk was among those who stated that they experienced harassment at the hands of Toptaş and described the incident as 'sexual assault'. Inspired by the

Me Too movement, many women later expressed solidarity with the victims. Toptaş accepted the accusations and wrote, "Until a person understands what [the definition of] a male offender is, he can make mistakes without knowing, realizing or thinking about what great wounds he could inflict on the other side. Today we learn from women what being a doer is. I sincerely apologize to all the people I hurt, upset and harmed with my unwitting behavior."[5][6] After the events, the website 5harfliler.com and many users made a call to Everest Publications, the publishers of Toptaş's works, to end their collaboration with him.[7] Saadet Özen, the editor-in-chief of Everest, responded to the call on Twitter and said, "the statement of a woman is essential for the victim's voice to be heard, the harassment and pressure to be revealed, to be discussed and questioned". She added that they would act accordingly and terminate their works with Toptaş.[8][9] The publication house further stated "We are against all kinds of harassment and will continue to be."[10] The Turkish Writers' Union also called on literati to take a collective attitude against all kinds of harassment using social and literary status.[11] His Mersin City Literature Award was revoked after the harassment cases came forward, with the city council deeming it necessary "due to our humanitarian, moral, conscientious, and literary responsibility."[12] Director Ali Aydın and producer Müge Büyüktalaş announced that the project for adapting Toptaş's novel Kuşlar Yasına Gider into a movie had been cancelled. The project had been in development since 2019.[13]

Works

Works in English

  • Reckless - 2016[25]
  • Shadowless - 2017[18]

References

  1. ^ a b Ali Toptas, Hasan (1987). Bir gülüşün kimliği öyküler [The Identity of A Laugh] (in Turkish). Turkey: İz Yayınları.
  2. .
  3. ^ "YAYINDAN ALINDI-Doğan Hızlan ile Karalama Defteri: Hasan Ali Toptaş 37. Bölüm". TRT 2. Retrieved 9 December 2020.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ Çelik, Ece (9 December 2020). "'Edeb'i taciz ifşa oldu". Hürriyet. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  5. ^ @hasanali_toptas (December 9, 2020). "Kamuoyuna duyuru" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  6. ^ "Hasan Ali Toptaş, kadınları taciz ettiğini kabul etti". Habertürk. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  7. ^ @5Harfliler (December 9, 2020). "Şimdi @EverestKitap ve iletisimyayin'larına soralım, yazarınız Hasan Ali Toptaş ve Bora Abdo'yla sözleşmeyi iptal edecek misiniz, tacizleri ifşa edilen bu yazarların kitaplarını basmaya devam mı? Kadın düşmanı Ali Lidar'la ilişiğinizi kesecek misiniz? @otdergi @ithakiyayinlari" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  8. ^ @zen_saadet (December 9, 2020). "Günaydın. Bana göre kadınların beyanı, mağdurun sesinin duyulması, tacizin, baskının açığa çıkması, konuşulması, sorgulanması için esastır. Her kim söz konusu olursa olsun bu kural değişmez" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  9. ^ "Everest Yayınları: Kadının beyanı esastır". Bianet. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  10. ^ "Everest Yayınları, "tacizin karşısındayız" diyerek Hasan Ali Toptaş'la yollarını ayırdı". T24. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  11. ^ "Türkiye Yazarlar Sendikası tacize karşı örgütlü mücadele çağrısı yaptı". Evrensel. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  12. ^ "Mersin, Hasan Ali Toptaş'a verdiği ödülü geri alıyor". Cumhuriyet. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  13. ^ @MugeBuyuktalas (December 10, 2020). "Geçtiğimiz yıldan beri..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  14. .
  15. .
  16. .
  17. .
  18. ^ .
  19. ^ Ali Toptas, Hasan (1996). Kayıp hayaller kitabı [The Book of Lost Dreams] (in Turkish). Turkey: Can Yayınları Limited Şti.
  20. .
  21. .
  22. .
  23. .
  24. .
  25. ^ .
  26. .
  27. .

External links