Literary Investigations (Book)

Tahkikat-ı Edebiye is a questionnaire/interview-style work compiled by Handan İnci, consisting of questions directed at the leading literary figures and personalities of the era by Midhat Cemal Kuntay.

This book, composed of various questions sent by Midhat Cemal Kuntay between 1909 and 1919 to the literary figures, poets and prominent personalities of the time, remained unpublished among the archives of Servet-i Fünûn magazine for many years until it was finally published in book form through the research of Handan İnci.

Although Ruşen Eşref Ünaydın’s 1918 publication Diyorlar ki is often cited as the first example of the questionnaire/interview genre in Turkish literature, when viewed from a chronological standpoint, Midhat Cemal Kuntay’s work predates Ruşen Eşref’s book. From this perspective, Kuntay’s study can be described as the “first” of its kind in the history of Turkish literature in terms of the questionnaire/interview genre. On this matter, Handan İnci writes in the “Introduction” of Tahkikat-ı Edebiye:

“In Turkish literature, Ruşen Eşref Ünaydın’s 1918 book Diyorlar ki is commonly presented as the first example of questionnaire/investigation/interview works directed at writers. Yet there was someone who began much earlier. Midhat Cemal Kuntay, beginning in 1909, sent questionnaires to renowned writers of the time to learn their literary identities directly from them. However, for some reason, he waited until 1919 to publish the responses he received.”^【1】

Kuntay did not send the same questions to every writer; he made individualized adjustments to the questions depending on the respondent. Examining the questions and responses, it can be inferred that Kuntay’s inquiries to the writers generally followed this structure:

“What are your views on classicism, romanticism, realism and symbolism? Which of these movements do you align yourself with in your writing? Which authors from classical, modern, Turkish and West literature have you read? Among them, who are the writers you admired most and who influenced you the most? What is your artistic purpose? In which newspapers and magazines have you published your work? Do you use pseudonyms? Which of your own works do you value the most?”^【2】

The names of the writers who were questioned by Midhat Cemal Kuntay and whose responses appear in the work are as follows: Abdülhak Hâmid Tarhan, Cenab Şahabeddin, Süleyman Nazif, Samipaşazâde Sezai, Faik Ali Ozansoy, Hüseyin Cahid Yalçın, Mehmet Âkif Ersoy, Ahmet Reşid Lord, Kemalpaşazâde Said, Mehmet Said Pasha, Hüseyin Suat Yalçın, Halide Edib Adıvar, Yusuf Akçura, Ali Ekrem Bolayır, Ali Kâmi Akyüz, Ahmet Hikmet Müftüoğlu, Rıza Tevfik Bölükbaşı.

In addition, through Handan İnci’s work, the texts have been rendered into contemporary Turkish, and biographies and photographs of the seventeen writers who participated in the questionnaire have also been included in the book.