Turkish Literature: Most Known Poets

With countless movements and high-quality poets, Turkish literature is filled with skilled pens. The history of literature in Turkish manages to reach more than thousands of years. Poets wish to make the best of their bright minds while shining light over social problems and sharing their inner world. Let us take a closer look at some of the most known poets of Turkish culture.

Yahya Kemal Beyatlı

Fellow politician, diplomat, and poet, Yahya Kemal Beyatlı is known for his unique use of “Aruz” prosody, combining the great values of Turkish culture. Collaborating with famous Turkish poets and authors such as Tevfik Fikret, Mehmet Akif Ersoy, and Ahmet Haşim, Yahya Kemal Beyatlı aimed to portray the best of Turkish literature. Composing poems with aspects of Turkish music, Beyatlı gave such importance to the harmony that each of his poems possessed.

Nazım Hikmet

Turkey’s most controversial and one of the most known poets, Nazım Hikmet, was a Turkish poet, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, director, and memoirist. He sought out different and unique forms of meters while writing his poems. Breaking free out of syllabic meter, Nazım Hikmet became the leading name of free verse poems. With his style, Nazım Hikmet wrote about the common struggles of each society possess and was called the romantic communist. As of our day, the works of Nazım Hikmet hold an immense value for Turkish literature.

Mehmet Akif Ersoy

Writer of Turkish National Anthem, İstiklal Marşı, Mehmet Akif Ersoy, is one of the most important and influential poets of Turkish literature. Noted with his patriotism, role during the Turkish War of Independence, and great use and capability of the Turkish language, Ersoy is regarded as the premier literary mind of his time. His other well-known work is titled “Safahat” which was published in 1911. Safahat was made out of amazing 44 different poems and is considered to be one of the best works that successfully manage to portray the best of Turkish patriotism. With the prominent value that Mehmet Akif Ersoy poses, every classroom has his picture of him along with Atatürk.

Atilla İlhan

Born in 1925, İzmir, Atilla Ilhan was among the bright minds that contributed to Turkish literature and culture with his great works. His uncle sent a poem of Atilla without his notice, which placed him second, leaving many poets behind. He started studying law at Istanbul University, in which he dropped out to pursue his dreams of being a poet and a writer. Atilla Ilhan passed away in 2005 with the countless works he gave to this world.