Edebi Eleştiri Dergisi

Öz

It would not be an inaccurate characterization to say that the newspapers and literary works were intertwined in the Turkish Literature in the Tanzimat (Reorganization) Period since the first examples of the new literature were introduced to the public on newspaper columns and the criticisms against the old literature and the program of the new literature were voiced in the periodicals. Almost all Tanzimat artists assumed the responsibility for at least one newspaper and were even recalled with the name of the newspaper that they published. Besides, the platform where the literary discussions took place was again the newspaper columns, and nearly all of these discussions played a role in the formation of a front of the new literature that was still in the process of establishment. The Newspaper Hakayıku’l-Vekayi (The Reality of Cases) was published from 3 September 1870 to 6 December 1873. In its introduction, it is stated that the articles about literature will be included in the newspaper, however, it has no remarkable content drawing attention to literature. On the other hand, Hakayıku’l-Vekayi is a periodical where two poems (one translation and one copyrighted) of Ethem Pertev Paşa, who took part in the formation process of the new Turkish poetry, were published. The discussion laying the groundwork for the Preface, Son Pişmanlık (The Last Moment of Regret), starts with Abdi Efendi’s objection (issue no. 968, 11 September 1873) to an article written by Faik Reşat in issue 966 of the newspaper (9 September 1873) and comes to an end with an article written by Abdi Efendi (issue no. 975, 19 September 1873). The Preface, Son Pişmanlık, refers to this discussion in Hakayık and mentions the names of the two sides of the discussion, Faik Reşat and Abdi Efendi. Namık Kemal chooses his side, and in a letter to Faik Reşat, he says that this discussion laid the groundwork for the preface of a novel that he was still in the process of writing. All these incidents caused the above newspaper and discussion to gain a place in literary history, however, the emphasis was not placed for the most part on the content of the discussion. In this article, first, an evaluation was presented on the content of the newspaper Hakayıku’l-Vekayi, its cadre of writers, and its place in the journalism history, and then, the course of the discussion between Faik Reşat and Abdi Efendi and its topics were addressed with references to the Preface, Son Pişmanlık. Lastly, the final part of the article was reserved for the Preface, Son Pişmanlık.