Tevfik Fikret (1867-1915)

He was born and died in Istanbul. He was educated in the famous Mekteb-i Sultani (Galatasaray High School). He took several governmental positions and taught Turkish in the Mekteb-i Sultani (1894-1895). In 1895, his son—the subject of many of his poems—was born. He became the editor-in-chief of the Servet-i Fünun journal in 1896 and was later appointed to the faculty at Robert College. He was the most important poet of the Servet-i Fünun literary movement (1896-1901) and his poetry marked a revolutionary beginning for modern Turkish literature. His efforts to "Westernize" Turkish poetry and make it a powerful vehicle for socio-historical and political commentary have influenced many later poets. His early works were centered around personal and thus more limited subjects and exhibit a heavily romantic sentiment but, after 1901, the direction of his poetry underwent a dramatic change, focusing particularly on the social and political problems of the country. These poems, with their didactic and patriotic tone, came to be the "battle cry" for the enlightenment and secularism movements in Turkey. This explains in part why Tevfik Fikret was one of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's favorite poets. WORKS: Rübab-ı Şikeste (1900), Halûk'un Defteri (1911), Şermin (1914). There are a number of scholarly works published on Fikret's poetry and philosophy, including Mehmed Kaplan's Tevfik Fikret ve Şiiri (1946), and Kenan Akyüz's Tevfik Fikret (1947). 

I AM A POET, MY THOUGHTS ARE FREE

I expect no gifts from any, nor beg for wing or feather

In my own sky, in my own heavens, on my own I soar

To bow beneath slavery's collar weighs heavy on my neck

I am a poet, my thoughts are free, wisdom free, conscience free

 

Translated by Walter G. Andrews

HALUK'S CREDO

There is a universal power, supreme and limitless

Holy and sublime, with all my heart, so

                                                                        do I believe

The earth is my homeland, my nation all humankind;

A person becomes human only by knowing this, so

                                                                        do I believe

We are Satan, and jinn, there's no devil, no angels

Human beings will turn this world into paradise, so

                                                                        do I believe

The perfect is immanent in creation; in that perfection

By way of the Torah, of the Gospels, of the Koran

                                                                        do I believe

The children of humanity are each other's siblings... a dream?

Then so be it, for in that dream, with all my heart and soul,

                                                                        do I believe

No one eats human flesh; deep-down, in this solace

-Forgetting my ancient ancestors for a moment-

                                                                        do I believe

Blood nourishes violence and violence blood; this enmity

Is a flame in the blood that blood never quenches, so

                                                                        do I believe

Surely this graveyard-existence will be followed

By refulgent resurrection, with utter certainty, so

                                                                        do I believe

Before the miracle of that great sorcerer, reason,

Superstition will sink frustrated, into the earth, so

                                                                        do I believe

 

Translated by Walter G. Andrews

 

[From An Anthology of Turkish Literature, Edited by Kemal Silay]