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

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

and

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

writer. His first short story book ''Bir Gülüşün Kimliği'' (The Identity of A Laugh) was published in 1987. An important Turkish scholar, Yıldız Ecevit nicknames him "a

postmodern Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by skepticism toward the " grand narratives" of moderni ...

modernist Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...

" and calls him "a

Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It typ ...

Turkish literature Turkish literature ( tr, Türk edebiyatı) comprises oral compositions and written texts in Turkic languages. The Ottoman and Azerbaijani forms of Turkish, which forms the basis of much of the written corpus, were highly influenced by Persian la ...

", in her work ''Türk Romanında Postmodernist Açılımlar'' (The Postmodernist Expansion in Turkish Literature).

Allegations of sexual misconduct

On 8 December 2020, Toptaş was accused of sexual misconduct by a number of users on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

. On TRT 2's program ''Karalama Defteri'', which was presented by

Doğan Hızlan Doğan Hızlan, (born 1937 Istanbul) is a Turkish author. He graduated from Pertevniyal High School,then completed his bachelor's degree in Istanbul University Faculty of Law. Doğan Hızlan, whos first work was published in 1954, directed the ...

, 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. 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. 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 #MeToo is a social movement against sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and rape culture, in which people publicize their experiences of sexual abuse or sexual harassment. The phrase "Me Too" was initially used in this context on social media in ...

, many women later expressed solidarity with the victims. Toptaş accepted the accusations and wrote, "Until a person understands what he definition ofa 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." 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. 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. The publication house further stated "We are against all kinds of harassment and will continue to be." The

Turkish Writers' Union The Turkish Writers' Union ( tr, Türkiye Yazarlar Sendikası, abbreviated as TYS) is a trade union for writers in Turkey. It is sometimes confused with the Turkish Authors' Association () as both may be translated as ''Writers Union of Turkey''. I ...

also called on literati to take a collective attitude against all kinds of harassment using social and literary status. 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." 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.

Works

*Bir Gülüşün Kimliği he Identity of A Laugh- 1987 *Yalnızlıklar olitudes- 1990 *Ölü Zaman Gezginleri he Dead Time Travelers- 1993 *Sonsuzluğa Nokta ull Stop to Infinity- 1993 * Gölgesizler hadowless- 1995 *Kayıp Hayaller Kitabı he Book of Lost Dreams- 1996 *Ben Bir Gürgen Dalıyım am a Hornbeam Branch- 1997 * Bin Hüzünlü Haz -Thousand-Gloomy Pleasure- 1999 *Uykuların Doğusu he East of Slumbers- 2005 *Harfler ve Notalar etters and Notes- 2007 *Heba eckless- 2013 *Kuşlar Yasına Gider irds Go to His Mourning- 2016 *Beni Kör Kuyularda - 2019 *Heba - Midi Boy - 2019 *Gecenin Gecesi - Ciltli - 2020

Works in English

*Reckless - 2016 *Shadowless - 2017

References

External links

The Official Site of H. A. Toptaş
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toptas, Hasan Ali 1958 births Living people People from Çal Turkish writers Postmodern writers