Drying River, Flowing Poetry: The Revisionist Mythmaking in Zerrin Taşpınar's Tavra

The Revisionist Mythmaking

Abstract

This article examines Zerrin Taşpınar’s river-poem, Tavra, (1995) through the perspective of how women writers rewrite male-dominated myths to foster cultural change by giving voice to female characters and creating a space for their self-expression. Taşpınar’s work constructs a transformative discourse that challenges patriarchal views. She achieves this by employing the prominent motif of the Anatolian goddess Cybele, transforming the female figure from a mere object of male-dominated myths into an active voice. The poem is an antithesis to patriarchal mentality, targeting the oppressive and murderous male tyranny responsible for the Madımak Hotel massacre which occurred on July 2, 1993, in Sivas and caused the deaths of 37 writers, poets, folk bards, folk dancers, and intellectuals. In response, Taşpınar highlights the Anatolian goddess Cybele—depicted as a woman before her deification—as a symbol of inclusivity, forgiveness, and unity. The poet asserts that only a feminine, multi-vocal discourse can effectively resist patriarchal and mono-vocal tyranny, oppression, and death. By allowing the woman/goddess to express herself, Taşpınar conveys a powerful message: women can find freedom through self-expression, and this approach can also be an important factor to solving contemporary human problems. By reinterpreting established male-dominated myths, Tavra stands as an important example in Turkish literature of transformative mythmaking for social and cultural change.