Çalıkuşu (The Wren)

From the Mother Tongue Shapeshifting & Reclaiming collection.

“Çalıkuşu” belongs in this library because it’s the story of Feride, a young woman from Istanbul’s upper class who, after a romantic disappointment, becomes a teacher and travels to remote villages across Anatolia. As she moves from posting to posting - from the provincial towns to the most isolated rural schools - she encounters people whose lives are far removed from her privileged upbringing.

What starts as a kind of self-imposed exile becomes a profound awakening: Feride realizes that the polished, literary Turkish she learned in elite Istanbul circles often creates more distance than connection. The people she meets in villages, with their direct speech and unadorned truths, teach her that real communication happens when you abandon performative acts and speak from genuine experience. Güntekin shows us that Feride’s true education isn’t about what she brings to these communities, but what they give her - a way of being in language that values honesty over elegance, connection over sophistication. Her story is about the fact that sometimes the most revolutionary thing you can do is learn to be authentic." - Nazlican Goksu

Borrow, share, exchange as you wish, and return by the end of the season on February 6th. Pick up at the gallery anytime, and return and swap for a new book of your choosing. To our global friends - online borrowing is possible, just pay for the shipping there and back. 

The Mother Tongue Library is a love letter to the thinkers, writers, and artists who’ve given us the language of courage when we needed it most.