Metin Kaan

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Metin Kaan

Born 15 November 1961

Kayseri

Died 6 January 2013 (aged 51)

Istanbul

Occupation Writer

Nationality Turkish

Notable works Ar Roman

Metin Kaan (15 November 1961 6 January 2013) was a Turkish author, who is best known for his
novel Ar Roman (Cholera Street), which was translated into German (Kaan 2003), and a movie
(Ar Roman), directed by Mustafa Altoklar (1999), was based on it.

Contents
[hide]

1Literary career

2Rape conviction

3Death

4Literature by Metin Kaan

5Literature about Metin Kaan

6References

Literary career[edit]
Besides Ar Roman, Kaan is also the author of novel Fndk Sekiz, a collection of short stories, "A
ship to the Islands" (Adalara Vapur, Kaan 2002), and a book written in a mixed style between prose
and poetry, entitled "The Tiger at Withdrawal" (Harman Kaplan, Kaan 1999).
Much of Kaan's writings deals with life in Istanbul, in particular its poor quarter Dolapdere (not far
from Taksim Square). To Dolapdere, he sarcastically gave the name "Cholera" (Kolera in Turkish)
in Ar Roman, thereby recalling both its shabbiness and the fact that the great Polish poet Adam
Mickiewicz died there from the cholera in 1855. Mickiewicz Museum at Dolapdere, still open to
visitors today, figures in "Ar Roman". The title of this novel plays ingeniously with the polysemy of
the Turkish word Roman, which means both "gypsy" and "novel". Also, together with the
adjective ar, which means "heavy" or "slow" in Turkish, Roman is the designation for a special kind
of street music, played by some of the novel's protagonists.
Ar Roman tells the tragic story of a young hero, who grows up in Cholera quarter but finally fails
and commits suicide. His failure parallels the failure of the quarter itself, whose ancient structures as
well as its multi-ethnic and multi-religious composition disintegrate.[1]
Fndk Sekiz tells a story about two cars, that appear sometimes as personified figures, and that take
the semi-autobiographical protagonist Meto on a mystical journey. At the same time, Meto's conflict
with a woman, who manages to have him thrown into prison through fraudulent statements, is
related, which might reflect some of Kaan's own experiences.[2]
Kaan's style is heavily imbued with Turkish slang. This choice gives his writings a non-conformistic,
frequently vulgar, but overall extremely vivid and creative tone, which has been hailed, among
others, by Yldz Ecevit.[3] Other characteristics of his writing are the personification of natural
phenomena and inanimate items such as cars (in particular in Fndk Sekiz), autobiographical details
(Kaan grew up in Dolapdere), the blurring of the limitations of poetry and prose, and references to
mysticism, in particular Muslim mysticism (Sufism). His best-selling novel, Ar Roman was
translated into French by Actes Sud in 2010.

Rape conviction[edit]
In 1995, Kaan was arrested for torturing and raping his ex-girlfriend. He was released on bail
pending the outcome of the trial, which ended five years later with a prison sentence of eight years
and nine months.[4][5] The appeals court upheld Kaan's conviction. In 2006, he was caught by the
police in his hometown while attending the funeral of a relative and sent to prison to serve his
sentence. After spending close to four years in prison, the remainder of his sentence was commuted.

Death[edit]
Kaan committed suicide by jumping from the Bosphorus Bridge on 6 January 2013.[6] On that day,
he took a cab in Esenler on the European side of Istanbul and requested to be driven to skdar on
the Asian side. He asked the driver to stop on the bridge so that he could take photographs. He got
out of the vehicle, ran to the edge of the bridge, and threw himself off. His brother confirmed the
suicide on 8 January.[7] His body washed ashore on 18 January, twelve days after his disappearance,
on the coast of Marmara Sea at Beylikdz. Kaan was 51 years old.[8]

Literature by Metin Kaan[edit]

Jaklaban-Andante Graffiti (1989) Istanbul, Joker Yaynlar

Kaan, Metin et Kemal Aratan stedikleri Yere Gidenler (1991) Istanbul, Joker Yaynlar

Kaan, Metin Ar Roman (1995) Istanbul, Can Yaynlar.

Kaan, Metin Fndk Sekiz (1997) Istanbul, Can Yaynlar

 Kaan, Metin Harman Kaplan (1999) Istanbul, Can Yaynlar

Kaan, Metin Adalara Vapur (2002) Istanbul, Can Yaynlar

Kaan, Metin Cholera Blues (2003) Berlin, Dayeli

Kaan, Metin Cervantesin Yeeni (2005) Istanbul, Can Yaynlar

Kaan,Metin Haselnuss 8 (2008) Berlin, Dayeli

Literature about Metin Kaan[edit]

Hess 1998a. Hess, Michael Reinhard: Ar Roman. Istanbuler Almanach 2 (1998). 6466.

Hess 1998b. Hess, Michael Reinhard: A Glance at the Wilder Side of Turkey: Ar
Roman. Orientalia Suecana 67 (1998). 5567.

Ecevit 2004. Ecevit, Yldz: Trk Romannda Postmodernist Almlar [Postmodern

Tendencies in the Turkish novel]. 3rd ed. Istanbul: Iletisim Yaynlar.

Hess 2005. Hess, Michael Reinhard: The Turkish Car Novel on a Trip: fndk sekiz by Metin
Kaan. Wiener Zeitschrift fr die Kunde des Morgenlandes 95 (2005). 87118.