A Cypriot Narrative on the Axis of Historical and Fictional Realities: Kani-Veran
A Cypriot Narrative on the Axis of Historical and Fictional Realities: Kani-Veran

Summary/Abstract: Fictional works are inspired by historical and factual realities, as well as by folk literature genres such as myths, epics, legends, and fairy tales. Turkish Cypriots endured a painful period of blockades, conflicts, and displacement on the island between 1950 and 1974. These events have been the subject of numerous literary works. This study analyzes “Kani-Veran” by Cypriot author Raşit Pertev, a work in which historical and fictional realities are blended. The author creates works emphasizing the historical, political, social, and cultural realities of Cyprus in an “original” way by blending literary genres such as myth, fairy tale, legend, story, and poetry. The aim of this study is to identify the intertwined historical, factual, and fictional realities, folkloric elements, and the “dialectical image” in Pertev’s works. Analyzing Pertev’s works shall allow us to see his theoretical background in Turkish Cypriot literature and how he critically approaches history and his own reality. The scope of this study is limited to the work entitled “Kani-Veran”. This study employs the descriptive analysis method through a literature review, followed by the identification of “historical, factual, and fictional” elements within the work via close reading of the text. The work offers the reader rich folkloric insights into Turkish Cypriot and into every day and ceremonial life on the island. Drawing from historical reality in chronological sequence, the author constructs a narrative within a fictional framework, offering a critical perspective on the town, society, historical period, war, and human experience. In his work, the author creates an archive of Cypriot dialect and culture, as well as the town of Larnaca.

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