Varlık

Varlık is a Turkish literary and arts magazine established in 1933 by Yaşar Nabi Nayır, Sabri Esat Siyavuşgil, and Nahit Sırrı Örik. It began publication in Ankara on 15 July 1933 as a biweekly periodical and later became a monthly magazine. Its early owner was Sabri Esat Siyavuşgil, who was also one of its founders. In 1946, the magazine moved from Ankara to Istanbul, and Varlık Publications was established in the same year as its publishing organization. The magazine occupies an important place in the development and dissemination of modern Turkish literature. Over the decades, it has published poetry, fiction, criticism, essays, literary commentary, and material relating to the arts. A substantial number of Turkish writers who later attained national prominence appeared in its pages, including Sait Faik Abasıyanık, Cahit Sırrı Tarancı, Orhan Veli Kanık, Nurullah Ataç, Ziya Osman Saba, Oktay Akbal, Mahmut Makal, Necati Cumalı, Fazıl Hüsnü Dağlarca, Behçet Necatigil, Cahit Külebi, Orhan Kemal, Haldun Taner, and Tahsin Yücel. Its role has therefore extended beyond that of a conventional periodical: Varlık has functioned as a venue through which literary reputations were developed, debated, and introduced to a broad Turkish readership. Varlık has also contributed to cultural exchange through translations and coverage of international literature. The magazine introduced Turkish readers to translated works by major writers including Fyodor Dostoevsky, Ivan Turgenev, Nikolai Gogol, Franz Kafka, Leo Tolstoy, John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway, Honoré de Balzac, André Malraux, Émile Zola, André Gide, Albert Camus, and Jean-Paul Sartre. This combination of Turkish literary discovery and international translation helped position the publication as a bridge between domestic literary production and wider world culture. After Yaşar Nabi Nayır died in 1981, his daughter Filiz Nayır began editing the magazine. The Turkish author and poet Kemal Özer served as editor from 1983 to 1990. The publication has continued under the Varlık name as a specialist literary review, maintaining a focus on literature and the arts. Since 2001, it has been associated with the Eurozine network, connecting it to a broader European community of cultural and literary magazines. Public reference material does not establish a current editor, ownership structure, circulation figure, or financial performance.

Varlık first appeared in Ankara on 15 July 1933. It was founded by the writers and intellectuals Yaşar Nabi Nayır, Sabri Esat Siyavuşgil, and Nahit Sırrı Örik. During its initial period, it was issued as a biweekly magazine and was owned by Siyavuşgil, one of the founding figures. The publication developed as a literary and cultural forum, publishing poetry, fiction, criticism, and other writing connected with the arts. In 1946, Varlık relocated to Istanbul. That year also saw the creation of Varlık Publications, the publishing entity associated with the magazine. The move and organizational development marked an important stage in the publication's institutional history, allowing it to continue its literary activity from Turkey's principal publishing and cultural center. Varlık became particularly influential in Turkish literary life because it provided an outlet for writers who later became prominent. Contributors associated with the magazine include Sait Faik Abasıyanık, Cahit Sırrı Tarancı, Orhan Veli Kanık, Nurullah Ataç, Ziya Osman Saba, Oktay Akbal, Mahmut Makal, Necati Cumalı, Fazıl Hüsnü Dağlarca, Behçet Necatigil, Cahit Külebi, Orhan Kemal, Haldun Taner, and Tahsin Yücel. The magazine's contribution was not limited to publishing individual works; its sustained presence helped shape literary discussion and offered readers access to new voices in Turkish writing. The magazine also played a translation and international-literature role. It published Turkish translations and introductions to works by writers such as Dostoevsky, Turgenev, Gogol, Kafka, Tolstoy, Steinbeck, Hemingway, Balzac, Malraux, Zola, Gide, Camus, and Sartre. Through this editorial activity, Varlık connected Turkish literary culture with major traditions and debates from Europe, Russia, and the wider international sphere. Following Yaşar Nabi Nayır's death in 1981, his daughter Filiz Nayır assumed editorial responsibility. Kemal Özer edited Varlık between 1983 and 1990. The magazine subsequently continued as a literary and arts review. Since 2001, it has been a member of the Eurozine network, an association of European cultural and literary magazines. Available reference material confirms the publication's historical importance and continuing identity, but does not provide reliable current details about its editor, circulation, ownership, staffing, or finances.

1. 2001Joins the Eurozine network

   Varlık becomes a member of the Eurozine network of cultural and literary magazines.

   Source
2. 1990End of Kemal Özer's editorial period

   Kemal Özer's documented period as editor concludes.

   Source
3. 1983Kemal Özer begins editorship

   Writer and poet Kemal Özer becomes editor of Varlık.

   Source
4. 1981Editorial succession after Yaşar Nabi Nayır's death

   After the death of co-founder Yaşar Nabi Nayır, his daughter Filiz Nayır begins editing the magazine.

   Source
5. 1946Publication moves to Istanbul

   Varlık relocates from Ankara to Istanbul, and Varlık Publications is founded as the magazine's publishing organization.

   Source
6. 1933Varlık is founded in Ankara

   Yaşar Nabi Nayır, Sabri Esat Siyavuşgil, and Nahit Sırrı Örik establish the magazine. Its first issue appears on 15 July as a biweekly literary publication.

   Source

A prestigious Turkish literary and arts review serving both as a platform for emerging and established Turkish writers and as a channel for translated world literature.

• VarlıkLiterary magazine1933

  Varlık is the brand's principal monthly literary and arts periodical. It publishes poetry, fiction, criticism, essays, and cultural writing, and has historically served as an important venue for Turkish authors. The magazine also presents translated literature and commentary on major international writers, combining literary discovery within Turkey with broader cultural exchange.

1. Varlık
2. Varlık Online