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{{Short description|Turkish writer (1961–2013)}}
{{Infobox writer 
| name = Metin Kaçan
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| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=y|1961|11|15}}
| birth_place = [[Kayseri]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=y|2013|1|6|1961|11|15}}
| death_place = [[Istanbul]]
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| occupation = Writer
| language =
| nationality = Turkish
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| notableworks = ''[[Ağır Roman (novel)|Ağır Roman]]''
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'''Metin Kaçan''' (15 November 1961 – 6 January 2013) was a Turkish author, who is best known for his novel ''[[Ağır Roman (novel)|Ağır Roman]]'' (''Cholera Street''), which was translated into German (Kaçan 2003), and a movie (''[[Ağır Roman (film)|Ağır Roman]]''), directed by [[Mustafa Altıoklar]] (1999), was based on it.

== Literary career ==
{{more citations needed|section|date=June 2019}}
Besides ''[[Ağır Roman (novel)|Ağır Roman]]'', Kaçan is also the author of the novel ''[[Fındık Sekiz]]'', a collection of short stories, "A ship to the Islands" (''Adalara Vapur'', Kaçan 2002), and a book written in a mixed style between prose and poetry, entitled "The Tiger at Withdrawal" (''Harman Kaplan'', Kaçan 1999).

Much of Kaçan'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 ''Ağır Roman'', thereby recalling both its shabbiness and the fact that the great [[Poland|Polish]] poet [[Adam Mickiewicz]] died there from the cholera in 1855. [[Adam Mickiewicz Museum, Istanbul|Mickiewicz Museum]] at Dolapdere, still open to visitors today, figures in "Ağır Roman". The title of this novel plays ingeniously with the [[polysemy]] of the [[Turkish language|Turkish]] word ''Roman'', which means both "[[wikt:gypsy|gypsy]]" and "novel". Also, together with the adjective ''ağır'', 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.

''Ağır 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.<ref>See Hess 1998b, Hess 2005</ref>

''[[Fındık 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 Kaçan's own experiences.<ref>See Kaçan 1997
and Hess 1998b</ref>

Kaçan'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 Yıldız Ecevit.<ref>Ecevit 2004</ref> Other characteristics of his writing are the personification of natural phenomena
and inanimate items such as cars (in particular in ''[[Fındık Sekiz]]''), autobiographical details (Kaçan 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, ''Ağır Roman'' was translated into French by [[Actes Sud]] in 2010.

== Rape conviction ==
In 1995, Kaçan 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.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2000-05-02 |title=Pazartesi Dergisi (Turkish - "Monday Magazine") |url=https://www.pazartesidergisi.com/pdf/62.pdf |access-date=2025-07-10 |website=pazartesidergisi.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://webarsiv.hurriyet.com.tr/2000/04/25/200953.asp|title = Ağır Roman yazarına tecavüz cezası 8 yıl 9 ay| date=25 April 2000 }}</ref> The appeals court upheld Kaçan'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 ==
Kaçan committed suicide by jumping from the [[Bosphorus Bridge]] on 6 January 2013.<ref>{{cite web|title=Edebiyatçı Metin Kaçan intihar etti|url=http://www.ntvmsnbc.com/id/25412398/|publisher=[[Ntvmsnbc]]|access-date=January 8, 2013}}</ref> On that day, he took a cab in [[Esenler]] on the European side of Istanbul and requested to be driven to [[Üsküdar]] 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.<ref>{{cite web|title=Famous Turkish novelist commits suicide| date=9 January 2013 |url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/famous-turkish-novelist-commits-suicide.aspx?PageID=238&NID=38668&NewsCatID=386/|publisher=[[Hurriyet Daily News]]|access-date=January 9, 2013}}</ref> His body washed ashore on 18 January, twelve days after his disappearance, on the coast of [[Marmara Sea]] at [[Beylikdüzü]]. Kaçan was 51 years old.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/22392106.asp |newspaper=[[Hürriyet]] |title=Metin Kaçan'ın cesedi bulundu |author=Aktaran, Mehmet |date=2013-01-19 |language=tr |access-date=2013-01-19 }}</ref>

==Literature by Metin Kaçan==
*Jaklaban-Andante ''Graffiti'' (1989) Istanbul, Joker Yayınları
*Kaçan, Metin et Kemal Aratan ''İstedikleri Yere Gidenler'' (1991) Istanbul, Joker Yayınları
*Kaçan, Metin ''Ağır Roman'' (1995) Istanbul, [[Can Yayınları]].
*Kaçan, Metin ''Fındık Sekiz'' (1997) Istanbul, Can Yayınları
*Kaçan, Metin ''Harman Kaplan'' (1999) Istanbul, Can Yayınları
*Kaçan, Metin ''Adalara Vapur'' (2002) Istanbul, Can Yayınları
*Kaçan, Metin ''Cholera Blues'' (2003) Berlin, Dağyeli
*Kaçan, Metin ''Cervantesin Yeğeni'' (2005) Istanbul, Can Yayınları
*Kaçan, Metin ''Haselnuss 8'' (2008) Berlin, Dağyeli

==Literature about Metin Kaçan==
*Hess 1998a. Hess, Michael Reinhard: Ağır Roman. ''Istanbuler Almanach'' 2 (1998). 64–66.
*Hess 1998b. Hess, Michael Reinhard: A Glance at the Wilder Side of Turkey: Ağır Roman. ''Orientalia Suecana'' 67 (1998). 55–67.
*Ecevit 2004. Ecevit, Yıldız: Türk Romanında Postmodernist Açılımlar [Postmodern Tendencies in the Turkish novel]. 3rd ed. Istanbul: Iletisim Yayınları.
*Hess 2005. Hess, Michael Reinhard: The Turkish Car Novel on a Trip: fındık sekiz by Metin Kaçan. W''iener Zeitschrift für die Kunde des Morgenlandes'' 95 (2005). 87–118.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kacan, Metin}}
[[Category:1961 births]]
[[Category:2013 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Kayseri]]
[[Category:20th-century Turkish novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century Turkish male writers]]
[[Category:Postmodern writers]]
[[Category:Suicides by jumping in Turkey]]
[[Category:Turkish male writers]]

Metin Kaçan - Revision history

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