Nesl-i Ahir as an example for the publication of simplified editions of literary texts

Abstract

Nesl-i Ahir, serialized in Sabah between 7 September 1908 and 5 March 1909, was neither simplified nor published as a book during its writer's lifetime. The only extant version of the work in book form is the simplified edition prepared by Semsettin Kutlu in 1990 and published with the subtitle, Son Kusak. Unfortunately, in simplifying the original and writing it in the letters of the new alphabet, Semsettin Kutlu has followed the original text very loosely and made significant changes in it. The end result has been an edition highly foreign to Halit Ziya's original work.Nobody has the right to meddle this way with a literary text, and it is even sadder that the work of a master of style like Halit Ziya is exposed to this kind of treatment years later. This way of editing is also not justified by the fact that Halit Ziya's serialized work was not published as a book during his own lifetime. The simplified edition of Nesl-i Ahir is regrettably not of a quality that can meet the needs and expectations of researchers in literature or other disciplines. Nor does it have a style that is clear and coherent enough for the lay reader to follow with relative ease.One of the major tasks of the science of literature is to "bring its materials together" and to reveal "the authenticity of the text". Otherwise, it may become rather difficult to "analyze literary works critically" and understand them within their historical framework. This study points out the significant differences between the only extant book edition of Nesl-i Ahir and the serialized copies that can be found in the newspaper archives. This way, it aims to draw attention to the difficulties involved in proper editing and the amount of meticulous work needed so as not to harm and alter the original text.