Poetry of the Republic of Turkey
Encyclopedia
- For the history/introduction of Turkish Poetry covering all eras see: Turkish literatureTurkish literatureTurkish literature comprises both oral compositions and written texts in the Turkish language, either in its Ottoman form or in less exclusively literary forms, such as that spoken in the Republic of Turkey today...
.
Poetry of the Republic of Turkey covers the "Turkish Poetry" beginning with 1911 with the national literature movement.
In the early years of the Republic of Turkey, there were a number of poetic trends. Authors such as Ahmed Hâşim and Yahyâ Kemâl Beyatlı (1884–1958) continued to write important formal verse whose language was, to a great extent, a continuation of the late Ottoman tradition. By far the majority of the poetry of the time, however, was in the tradition of the folk-inspired "syllabist" movement (Beş Hececiler), which had emerged from the National Literature movement and which tended to express patriotic
Patriotism
Patriotism is a devotion to one's country, excluding differences caused by the dependencies of the term's meaning upon context, geography and philosophy...
themes couched in the syllabic meter associated with Turkish folk poetry.
The first radical step away from this trend was taken by Nâzım Hikmet Ran
Nazim Hikmet
Nâzım Hikmet Ran , commonly known as Nâzım Hikmet , was a Turkish poet, playwright, novelist and memoirist. He was acclaimed for the "lyrical flow of his statements"...
, who—during his time as a student in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
from 1921 to 1924—was exposed to the modernist poetry of Vladimir Mayakovsky
Vladimir Mayakovsky
Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky was a Russian and Soviet poet and playwright, among the foremost representatives of early-20th century Russian Futurism.- Early life :...
and others, which inspired him to start writing verse in a less formal style. At this time, he wrote the poem "Açların Gözbebekleri" ("Pupils of the Hungry"), which introduced free verse
Free verse
Free verse is a form of poetry that refrains from consistent meter patterns, rhyme, or any other musical pattern.Poets have explained that free verse, despite its freedom, is not free. Free Verse displays some elements of form...
into the Turkish language for, essentially, the first time. Much of Nâzım Hikmet's poetry subsequent to this breakthrough would continue to be written in free verse, though his work exerted little influence for some time due largely to censorship
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
of his work owing to his Communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
political stance, which also led to his spending several years in prison. Over time, in such books as Simavne Kadısı Oğlu Şeyh Bedreddin Destanı ("The Epic of Shaykh Bedreddin, Son of Judge Simavne", 1936) and Memleketimden İnsan Manzaraları ("Human Landscapes from My Country", 1939), he developed a voice simultaneously proclamatory and subtle.
Another revolution in Turkish poetry came about in 1941 with the publication of a small volume of verse preceded by an essay and entitled Garip
Garip
Garip was a group of Turkish poets. The group was also known as the First New Movement. It was composed of Orhan Veli, Oktay Rifat and Melih Cevdet, who had been friends since high school. The name "Garip" signalled a break with the conventional, decadent style of Turkish poetry and literature at...
("Strange"). The authors were Orhan Veli Kanık (1914–1950), Melih Cevdet Anday (1915–2002), and Oktay Rifat (1914–1988). Explicitly opposing themselves to everything that had gone in poetry before, they sought instead to create a popular art, "to explore the people's tastes, to determine them, and to make them reign supreme over art". To this end, and inspired in part by contemporary French poets like Jacques Prévert
Jacques Prévert
Jacques Prévert was a French poet and screenwriter. His poems became and remain very popular in the French-speaking world, particularly in schools. Some of the movies he wrote are extremely well regarded, with Les Enfants du Paradis considered one of the greatest films of all time.-Life and...
, they employed not only a variant of the free verse introduced by Nâzım Hikmet, but also highly colloquial language
Colloquialism
A colloquialism is a word or phrase that is common in everyday, unconstrained conversation rather than in formal speech, academic writing, or paralinguistics. Dictionaries often display colloquial words and phrases with the abbreviation colloq. as an identifier...
, and wrote primarily about mundane daily subjects and the ordinary man on the street. The reaction was immediate and polarized: most of the academic establishment
Academia
Academia is the community of students and scholars engaged in higher education and research.-Etymology:The word comes from the akademeia in ancient Greece. Outside the city walls of Athens, the gymnasium was made famous by Plato as a center of learning...
and older poets vilified them, while much of the Turkish population embraced them wholeheartedly. Though the movement itself lasted only ten years—until Orhan Veli's death in 1950, after which Melih Cevdet Anday and Oktay Rifat moved on to other styles—its effect on Turkish poetry continues to be felt today.
Just as the Garip movement was a reaction against earlier poetry, so—in the 1950s and afterwards—was there a reaction against the Garip movement. The poets of this movement, soon known as İkinci Yeni ("Second New"), opposed themselves to the social aspects prevalent in the poetry of Nâzım Hikmet and the Garip poets, and instead—partly inspired by the disruption of language in such Western movements as Dada
Dada
Dada or Dadaism is a cultural movement that began in Zurich, Switzerland, during World War I and peaked from 1916 to 1922. The movement primarily involved visual arts, literature—poetry, art manifestoes, art theory—theatre, and graphic design, and concentrated its anti-war politics through a...
and Surrealism
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
—sought to create a more abstract poetry through the use of jarring and unexpected language, complex images, and the association of ideas. To some extent, the movement can be seen as bearing some of the characteristics of postmodern literature
Postmodern literature
The term Postmodern literature is used to describe certain characteristics of post–World War II literature and a reaction against Enlightenment ideas implicit in Modernist literature.Postmodern literature, like postmodernism as a whole, is hard to define and there is little agreement on the exact...
. The most well-known poets writing in the "Second New" vein were Turgut Uyar (1927–1985), Edip Cansever (1928–1986), Cemal Süreya
Cemal Süreya
Cemal Süreyya was a poet and writer.-Biography:After the 1938 Dersim Rebellion, Sureya and his family were forcefully deported to Bilecik, a Turkish city in western Anatolia. This had a significant affect on his poems.He graduated from the Political Sciences Faculty of Ankara University...
(1931–1990), Ece Ayhan (1931–2002), Sezai Karakoç (1933- ) and İlhan Berk
Ilhan Berk
İlhan Berk was a leading contemporary Turkish poet. He was a dominant figure in the postmodern current in Turkish poetry and was very influential among Turkish literary circles.-Biography:Berk was born in Manisa, Turkey in 1918 and received a teacher's training in Balıkesir...
(1918– ).
Outside of the Garip and "Second New" movements also, a number of significant poets have flourished, such as Fazıl Hüsnü Dağlarca (1914– ), who wrote poems dealing with fundamental concepts like life, death, God, time, and the cosmos; Behçet Necatigil (1916–1979), whose somewhat allegorical
Allegory
Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...
poems explore the significance of middle-class
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
daily life; Can Yücel (1926–1999), who—in addition to his own highly colloquial and varied poetry—was also a translator into Turkish of a variety of world literature.
National Literature (1911-1923)
- Mehmet Emin YurdakulMehmet Emin YurdakulMehmet Emin Yurdakul was a Turkish writer.-Notable works:*Türkçe Şiirler *Fazilet ve Adalet *Türk Sazı *Ey Türk Uyan...
(1869–1944) - Ziya GökalpZiya GökalpZiya Gökalp was a Turkish sociologist, writer, poet, and political activist. In 1908, after the Young Turk revolution, he adopted the pen name Gökalp , which he retained for the rest of his life...
(1876–1924) - Omer SeyfettinÖmer SeyfettinÖmer Seyfettin, also Omer Seyfeddin, was a Turkish nationalist writer from late 19th to early 20th century, considered to be one of the greatest modern Turkish authors...
(1884–1920) - Refik Halit Karay (1888–1965)
- Halide Edip AdıvarHalide Edip AdivarHalide Edip Adıvar or Halide Edib Adivar was a Turkish novelist and feminist political leader...
(1884–1964) - Resat Nuri GuntekinResat Nuri GüntekinReşat Nuri Güntekin was a Turkish novelist, storywriter and playwright. His most known novel, Çalıkuşu is about the destiny of a young Turkish female teacher in Anatolia; a movie was filmed on this book in 1966, and a TV series were produced in 1986...
(1889–1956) - Mehmet Fuat KöprülüMehmet Fuat KöprülüMehmet Fuat Köprülü , aka Köprülüzade, who traced his descent from the illustrious Köprülü family, was a Turkish politician and historian, known for his contributions to Ottoman history, Turkish folklore and language.-Biography:A founding member of the Democratic Party along with Celal Bayar, Adnan...
(1890–1966) - Yakup Kadri KaraosmanogluYakup Kadri KaraosmanogluYakup Kadri Karaosmanoğlu was a Turkish novelist, journalist, diplomat, and senator.-Early life:...
(1889–1974)
Garip Movement
- Orhan Veli Kanik (1914–1950)
- Oktay Rıfat HorozcuOktay Rifat HorozcuOktay Rifat Horozcu, better known as Oktay Rifat, was a Turkish writer and playwright, and one of the forefront poets of modern Turkish poetry since the late 1930s...
(1914–1988) - Melih Cevdet AndayMelih Cevdet AndayMelih Cevdet Anday , Turkish poet and writer who has been one of the forefront poets of the Garip movement together with Orhan Veli and Oktay Rifat....
(1915–2002)
II. New Movement
- Cemal SüreyaCemal SüreyaCemal Süreyya was a poet and writer.-Biography:After the 1938 Dersim Rebellion, Sureya and his family were forcefully deported to Bilecik, a Turkish city in western Anatolia. This had a significant affect on his poems.He graduated from the Political Sciences Faculty of Ankara University...
(1931–1990) - Ilhan BerkIlhan Berkİlhan Berk was a leading contemporary Turkish poet. He was a dominant figure in the postmodern current in Turkish poetry and was very influential among Turkish literary circles.-Biography:Berk was born in Manisa, Turkey in 1918 and received a teacher's training in Balıkesir...
(1918–2008 ) - Turgut Uyar (1927–1985)
- Edip CanseverEdip CanseverEdip Cansever was a Turkish poet.-Biography:Born in Istanbul, Turkey, Cansever attended Trade Academy for some time, and worked as an antiquity salesman in Grand Bazaar, Istanbul...
(1928–1986) - Ece Ayhan Çağlar (1931–2002)
- Sezai Karakoç
- Tevfik Akdağ
- Ülkü Tamer
Others
- Neyzen TevfikNeyzen TevfikNeyzen Tevfik was a Turkish poet, satirist, and neyzen . He was born in Bodrum on March 24, 1879, and died in Istanbul on January 28, 1953. His name is occasionally misspelled as Neyzen Teyfik.-Biography:Tevfik learned Persian as a young man, and became a Mevlevi in İzmir...
, poet (1879–1953) - Ahmet HaşimAhmet HasimAhmet Haşim was an influential Turkish poet of the early 20th century.-Biography:...
, poet (1884–1933) - Yahya Kemal BeyatlıYahya Kemal BeyatliYahya Kemal Beyatlı , born Ahmed Agâh, was a leading Turkish poet and author, as well as a politician.-Biography:...
, poet (1884–1958) - Abdülhak Şinasi Hisar, poet and novelist (1888–1963)
- Orhan Seyfi Orhon, poet (1890–1972)
- Enis Behiç Koryürek, poet (1891–1949)
- Halit Fahri Ozansoy, poet (1891–1971)
- Yusuf Ziya Ortaç, poet (1896–1967)
- Muammer Lütfi Bakşi, poet (1903–1947)
- Necip Fazıl KısakürekNecip Fazil KisakürekAhmet Necip Fazıl Kısakürek was a Turkish poet, novelist, playwright, philosopher and activist. He is also known with his initials NFK...
, poet and essayist (1905–1983) - Vasfi Mahir Kocayürek, poet (1907–1961)
- Sabri Esat Siyavuşgil, poet (1907–1968)
- Cevdet Kudret, poet (1907–1991)
- Yaşar Nabi Nayır, poet and journalist (1908–1981)
- Ahmet Muhip DıranasAhmet Muhip DiranasAhmet Muhip Dıranas was a leading Turkish poet and author.-Biography:He was born in Sinop, Ottoman Empire in 1909. Having completed his primary education in Sinop, he moved to Ankara and graduated from Ankara High School. He then went to Istanbul for a university degree and studied philosophy at...
, poet (1909–1980) - Cahit Sıtkı TarancıCahit Sitki TaranciCahit Sıtkı Tarancı Turkish poet and author.-Biography:Tarancı belonged to a well known clan family of Diyarbekir like his father Pirinççizâde Bekir Sıdkı and his uncle Pirinççizâde Aziz Feyzi. Tarancı finished his secondary education in St...
, poet (1910–1956) - Ziya Osman Saba, poet (1910–1957)
- Fazıl Hüsnü DağlarcaFazil Hüsnü DaglarcaFazıl Hüsnü Dağlarca was one the most prolific Turkish poets of the republican Turkey with more than 60 collections of his poems published as of 2007, laureate of the Struga Poetry Evenings Golden Wreath Award .-Biography:His purist use of the Turkish language brought a new dimension to...
, poet (1914- ) - Faik Baysal, poet (1918–2002)
- Salah Birsel, poet (1919–1999)
- Özdemir Asaf, poet (1923–1981)
- N. Abbas Sayar, poet and novelist (1923–1999)
- Can YücelCan YücelCan Yücel was a Turkish poet noted for his use of colloquial language.-Biography:Can Yücel was the son of a former Minister of National Education, Hasan Ali Yücel who left his mark on the history of education in Turkey, and a grandchild of an Ottoman sea captain who perished with the frigate...
, poet (1926–1999) - Attila İlhanAttila IlhanAttilâ İlhan was a Turkish poet, novelist, essayist, journalist and reviewer.-Early life:Attilâ İlhan was born in Menemen in İzmir Province, Turkey. He received most of his primary education in İzmir. However, because of his father's job, he completed his junior high school education in different...
, poet (1925–2005) - Cevat Çapan, poet (1933- )
- Güven Turan, poet (1943- )
- Ismet ÖzelIsmet Özelİsmet Özel is a Turkish poet and scholar.-Early years:Özel is the sixth child of a police officer from Söke. He attended his primary and secondary school in Kastamonu, Çankırı and Ankara...
, poet (1944- ) - Sabit İnceSabit InceSabit İnce is a Turkish poet and Islamist scholar.Sabit ince is a Turkish poet and writer. He was in Nevsehir in 1954.-Biography:...
, poet (1954- ) - Cem Uzungüneş, poet (1962- )
- Alaaddin Külcüoğlu, poet (1967- )
- Seyhan KurtSeyhan Kurt- Biography :Born in Grenoble, Isère, France, he started his primary education at La Verpillere, Ecole Les Marronnier and completed it at Ecole Jean Jaures in Lyon. He graduated from Dumlupinar High School in Mersin and continued his education in Selcuk University in Konya and studied French...
,poet and sociologist(1971) - Mehmet Altun, poet (1977- )
- Mehmet ErteMehmet ErteMehmet Erte is a contemporary Turkish poet and writer. He studied Physics at Sakarya University. His first poem, “Yıldırımları Beklemek”, published in Varlık magazine in 1999. Erte’s poems, short stories, essays and interviews were published in various magazines such as Varlık, Kitap-lık,...
, poet (1978- ) - Küçük İskender, poet
External links
- http://www.osmanlimedeniyeti.com Has samples of Ottoman Divan Poetry and Ziya Pasha's Terkib-i Bend (in Turkish)
- Turkish poetry Samples from Turkish poetry, in Turkish and English