Postmigrantische Lebensformen und kosmopolitische Blicke in Texten von Yadé Kara und Mely Kiyak

Abstract

Literary texts by authors with migrant backgrounds like Yadé Kara (»Selam Berlin «, 2003; »Cafe Cyprus «, 2008) and Mely Kiyak (»Istanbul Notizen «, 2013) describe among oth er issues experiences of migration, yet to simply classify these texts as migrant literature completely fails to come to terms with their literary complexity. By using literary themes of wandering and wanderers in between different cultural spaces, these texts rather focus on cosmopolitan lifestyles against the background of a postcolonial and globalised world. In this respect, the innovative and transcultural potential of these literary forms can be con ceptualized using Homi K. Bhabha’s theories of cultural hybridity and the third space. In -deed, cultural hybridity permits the postcolonial individuals in these texts to be empowered and to position themselves beyond the typical roles of victimhood, as represented in texts by Edward Said and others. Instead of remaining in dichotomising juxtapositions of cul -tures, Bhabha sees cultural hybridity – in opposition to Frantz Fanon in »Black Skin, White Masks « (» Peau noire, masques blancs «, 1952) – not as a problematic aspect, but as a basic element for cultural articulation, including artistic and aesthetic innovations. In texts by Kara und Kiyak, the main characters follow the above-mentioned patterns by wandering through different cultural spaces in a way that transgresses the limits of Ger -man-Turkish migrant literature. Kara’s protagonist investigates the transcultural urban environments of Berlin and London as a self-confident nomadic drifter. In »Istanbul Noti zen « , Mely Kiyak uses literary forms of fragmentary travel writing to capture impressions, encounters and the transcultural potential of the city of Istanbul. The immersion into and the transgression of cultural spaces are highlighted by the trans-lingual format of these texts. In how far can these texts be understood as forms of post-migrant writing? And finally, is multilingualism orchestrated as an articulation of cultural hybridity that paves the way for aesthetic innovation?