Ahmet Gökçimen 

Keywords: Turkmen literature, Mahtumkulu, Gurbandurdı Gurbansehedov, Çakılık, national identity

Abstract

Mahtumkulu, Turkmen poet of 18th century, is a pioneering poet with his life and his ideas. Many novels, stories and poems are written about Mahtumkulu. One of them is novella, that is long story, named "Çakılık", written in 1959 by Gurbandurdı Gurbansehedov, Turkmen author. In this study, how Mahtumkulu's biography is dealt in Çakılık is explained by giving brief information on Mahtumkulu's life. Finally, the validity of the novella and its contribution to Turkmen literature are evaluated