Product Review

At the heart of The Republic of Love are the voices of three musicians€"queer nightclub star Zeki Mren, arabesk originator Orhan Gencebay, and pop diva Sezen Aksu€"who collectively have dominated mass media in Turkey since the early 1950s. Their fame and ubiquity have made them national icons€"but, Martin Stokes here contends, they do not represent the official version of Turkish identity propagated by anthems or flags; instead they evoke a much more intimate and ambivalent conception of Turkishness.

Using these three singers as a lens, Stokes examines Turkey€s repressive politics and civil violence as well as its uncommonly vibrant public life in which music, art, literature, sports, and journalism have flourished. However, Stokes€s primary concern is how Mren, Gencebay, and Aksu€s music and careers can be understood in light of theories of cultural intimacy. In particular, he considers their contributions to the development of a Turkish concept of love, analyzing the ways these singers explore the private matters of intimacy, affection, and sentiment on the public stage.