Kerim Korcan?s works and his place in Turkish literature

Kerim Korcan was born to a poor family in Adapazarı on 31 January 1918. With his first story he received a second place award in a contest held by Milliyet daily newspaper. This award marked the beginning of his career as an author. Serving part of his life in prison, Korcan wrote novels and stories based on his observations there. His reliance on observations added to the success of his works.This dissertation studies published works of Kerim Korcan, 6 novels and 4 stories, in terms of structure, theme and expressive characteristics.One of the themes Kerim Korcan used in his novels and stories is life in prison. As a locale prison is parallel to and not independent from the outer world. Inmates serving their times in such an uninsulated prison suffered from the attitudes of the adminstration, defects in judiciary mechanisms and poverty.Another major theme in Kerim Korcan?s works is the need to strive for a world where individuals live in beter conditions, where there are no opressors or the oppressed, individuals enjoy equal rights, and where everybody works and receives what he deserves for his labor. Kerim Korcan struggled personally and offered advice through his works for his dream.In the period when he gave Works, between 1962 and 1990, Korcan adopted a collectivist stance. He created such important characters in Turkish literature as Arap Kadir and Tatar Ramazan. It is interesting to note that some of these characters enjoyed a fame greater than that of their creator?s.