Tevfik Fikret

Tevfik Fikret
Born	Mehmed Tevfik (1867-12-26)December 26, 1867 Constantinople (present-day Istanbul), Ottoman Empire
Died	August 19, 1915(1915-08-19) (aged 47) Constantinople (Istanbul)
Resting place	Aşiyan Asri Cemetery
Nationality	Ottoman
Alma mater	Galatasaray High School
Known for	Founder of the modern school of Turkish poetry.
Spouse(s)	Nazime (married 1890)
Children	Haluk (1895-1965)
Parents	Hüseyin Efendi (father), Hatice Refia Hanım (mother)

Tevfik Fikret (December 26, 1867 – August 19, 1915) (توفیق فکرت, born Mehmed Tevfik) was an Ottoman poet^[1] who is considered the founder of the modern school of Turkish poetry.^[2]

Biography

Mehmed Tevfik was born in Constantinople^[3] (present-day Istanbul) Ottoman Empire, on December 26, 1867.^[4] His father (Hüseyin Efendi), originally from the district of Çerkeş in the sanjak of Çankırı,^[4] was mostly absent, as he was exiled for being a political foe of the ruling regime; while his mother (Hatice Refia Hanım), a Greek Muslim convert from the island of Chios,^[4][5] died when he was very young.

Portrait of Tevfik Fikret at Galatasaray Museum

He received his education at the prestigious Galatasaray High School and graduated in 1888 as the valedictorian with the highest grades. He later became the school's principal. His sister suffered a tragic early death. In 1890 he married his cousin Nazime, and the couple had a son named Haluk in 1895. He left Galatasaray in 1894 and started teaching at another prestigious institution on the Bosphorus, Robert College, in 1896, where he kept working until his death. In 1906, he built a house inside the Robert College campus for his wife and son. Named Aşiyan, the house is now a museum.^[6]

He was investigated by the Ottoman police numerous times because of his political views and writings, and his association with known political opponents of Sultan Abdülhamid II. ^{[citation needed]}

Fikret is considered the father of modern Turkish poetry, emphasizing literary skill and knowledge over divine inspiration. Like many classic Turkish poets, he used his considerable knowledge of Turkish music in composing his poetery.^[7][8][9]

In 1894 he published the literary magazine Malûmat. In 1896 he became the chief editor of the Servet-i Fünun magazine, that aimed the simplification of the Ottoman language,^[10] where he worked with other Ottoman literary lumineries such as Halit Ziya Uşaklıgil, İsmail Safa, Mehmet Rauf, Samipaşazade Sezai and Hüseyin Cahit Yalçın. In 1908, after the Young Turk Revolution, he began publishing the newspaper Tanin, which became a strong supporter of the ruling party, the Committee of Union and Progress (Ittihat ve Terakki Cemiyeti). He was eventually disappointed with their politics too, and returned to Galatasaray High School as the principal. During the 31 March Incident (31 Mart Vakası) of 1909, he chained himself to the school gates as a protest and resigned the same day. ^{[citation needed]}

He had projects for a new school and magazines, however, due to complications from diabetes he refused to treat, he died in 1915 and was buried in the family plot at Eyüp. Along with many of his avant-garde contemporaries, he contributed to the literary magazine Servet-i Fünun ("The Wealth of Knowledge") until it was censored by the Ottoman government in 1901. Fikret's volumes of verse include Rubab-ı Şikeste ("The Broken Lute") from 1900, and Haluk'un Defteri ("Haluk's Notebook") from 1911. Because of his very fiery writings and poetry in which he criticised the Ottoman regime of Abdülhamid II, he was immortalized as the "freedom poet". ^{[citation needed]}

Bibliography

• "Rubab-ı Şikeste" (1900)
• "Tarih-i Kadim" (1905)
• "Haluk'un Defteri" (1911)
• "Rubabın Cevabı" (1911)
• "Şermin" (1914)
• "Son Şiirler" (1952)

Notes

See also

• Galatasaray High School
• Robert College

References

• Kuiper, Kathleen. Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature. Merriam-Webster, 1995.
• Biyografi.info - Biography of Tevfik Fikret (Turkish)

External links

• Tevfik Fikret - On his life and poetry