Hasan Ali Toptaş

Hasan Ali Toptaş (born 15 October 1958) is a prominent Turkish novelist and short story writer. His first short story book Bir Gülüşün Kimliği (The Identity of A Laugh) was published in 1987.[1] An important Turkish scholar, Yıldız Ecevit nicknames him "a postmodern modernist" and calls him "a Kafka in Turkish literature", in her work Türk Romanında Postmodernist Açılımlar (The Postmodernist Expansion in Turkish Literature).[2]

Hasan Ali Toptaş
Born (1958-10-15) 15 October 1958
Çal, Turkey
OccupationNovelist, short story writer
Period1987–present
GenreModernism, postmodernism

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
  • Bir Gülüşün Kimliği [The Identity of A Laugh] - 1987[1]
  • Yalnızlıklar [Solitudes] - 1990[14]
  • Ölü Zaman Gezginleri [The Dead Time Travelers] - 1993[15]
  • Sonsuzluğa Nokta [Full Stop to Infinity] - 1993[16]
  • Gölgesizler [Shadowless] - 1995[17][18]
  • Kayıp Hayaller Kitabı [The Book of Lost Dreams] - 1996[19]
  • Ben Bir Gürgen Dalıyım [I am a Hornbeam Branch] - 1997[20]
  • Bin Hüzünlü Haz [A-Thousand-Gloomy Pleasure] - 1999[21]
  • Uykuların Doğusu [The East of Slumbers] - 2005[22]
  • Harfler ve Notalar [Letters and Notes] - 2007[23]
  • Heba [Reckless] - 2013[24][25]
  • Kuşlar Yasına Gider [Birds Go to His Mourning] - 2016
  • Beni Kör Kuyularda - 2019
  • Heba - Midi Boy - 2019[26]
  • Gecenin Gecesi - Ciltli - 2020[27]

Works in English
  • Reckless - 2016[25]
  • Shadowless - 2017[18]

References
  1. Ali Toptas, Hasan (1987). Bir gülüşün kimliği öyküler [The Identity of A Laugh] (in Turkish). Turkey: İz Yayınları.
  2. Ecevit, Yıldız (2001). Türk Romanında Postmodernist Açılımlar [The Postmodernist Expansion in Turkish Literature] (in Turkish). Turkey: İletişim Yayınları. ISBN 9789750519635.
  3. "YAYINDAN ALINDI-Doğan Hızlan ile Karalama Defteri: Hasan Ali Toptaş 37. Bölüm". TRT 2. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  4. Çelik, Ece (9 December 2020). "'Edeb'i taciz ifşa oldu". Hürriyet. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  5. @hasanali_toptas (9 December 2020). "Kamuoyuna duyuru" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  6. "Hasan Ali Toptaş, kadınları taciz ettiğini kabul etti". Habertürk. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  7. @5Harfliler (9 December 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 (9 December 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 (10 December 2020). "Geçtiğimiz yıldan beri..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  14. Ali Toptas, Hasan (2003) [1990]. Yalnızlıklar [Solitudes] (in Turkish). Turkey: Türkiye İş Bankası Kültür Yayınları. ISBN 9789754584509.
  15. Ali Toptas, Hasan (1993). Ölü zaman gezginler [The Dead Time Travellers] (in Turkish). Turkey: İletişim. ISBN 9789750507151.
  16. Ali Toptas, Hasan (1993). Sonsuzluǧa nokta [Full Stop to Infinity] (in Turkish). Turkey: Türkiye İş Bankası Kültür Yayınları. ISBN 9789754583854.
  17. Ali Toptas, Hasan (2008). Gölgesizler [Shadowless] (in Turkish). Turkey: İletişim Yayınları. ISBN 9789750506178.
  18. Ali Toptas, Hasan; Freely, Maureen; Angliss, John (2017). Shadowless. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781408850848.
  19. Ali Toptas, Hasan (1996). Kayıp hayaller kitabı [The Book of Lost Dreams] (in Turkish). Turkey: Can Yayınları Limited Şti.
  20. Ali Toptas, Hasan (1997). Ben bir gürgen dalıyım [I Am A Hornbeam Branch] (in Turkish). Turkey: İletișim. ISBN 9789750506390.
  21. Ali Toptas, Hasan (2009). Bin hüzünlü haz [A-Thousand-Gloomy Pleasures] (in Turkish). Turkey: İletişim. ISBN 9789750506901.
  22. Ali Toptas, Hasan (2005). Uykuların doğusu [The East of Slumbers] (in Turkish). Turkey: Doğan Kitap. ISBN 9789752933637.
  23. Ali Toptas, Hasan (2007). Harfler ve notalar [Letters and Notes] (in Turkish). Turkey: İletişim. ISBN 9789750506185.
  24. Ali Toptas, Hasan (2013). Heba [Reckless] (in Turkish). Turkey: İletişim Yayınları. ISBN 9789750511585.
  25. Ali Toptas, Hasan; Freely, Maureen; Agliss, John (2015). Reckless. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781632860620.
  26. Ali Toptas, Hasan (2019). Heba Midi Boy (in Turkish). Turkey: Everest Yayinlari. ISBN 9786051851242.
  27. Ali Toptas, Hasan (2020). Gecenin Gecesi - Ciltli (in Turkish). Turkey: Everest Yayinlari. ISBN 9786051855011.
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