Recaizade Mahmud Ekrem ( ota, رجاﺋﻰ زاده محمود اكرم; 1 March 1847 – 31 January 1914) was an Ottoman civil servant, writer,

literary critic Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

, and intellectual, who was known for his apolitical views. He wrote poems, dramas and novels, dealt extensively with European literary theories and was one of the most influential, authoritative writers of his time.

Life

His father worked at the Academy of Sciences, and at the age of fifteen he became an official in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and later in various other branches. As a teacher, he wrote his own teaching material and did a systematic literary scientific work that benefited future generations. Like most writers of that time, Ekrem belonged to the circle of the Sultan's court. He became acquainted with Namık Kemal,

Abdülhak Hâmid Tarhan Abdülhak Hâmid Tarhan (born Abdülhak Hâmid; January 2, 1852 – April 12, 1937)Some sources state Feb 2,1852 was an early 20th-century Turkish playwright and poet. He was one of the leading lights of the Turkish Romantic period. He is ...

and other famous personalities of the time and was close friends with most of them. It was he who, after Şinasi and Namık Kemal, took over the "Young Turks" newspaper Tasvir-i Efkar (Writer of Ideas) and for many years pursued literature and civil service at the same time. Ekrem founded the famous magazine Servet-i Fünûn (Wealth of the Sciences) and gathered in the editorial board of the young and established literati. It is known that he set quality as the highest standard and even recalled his son from the line. The famous poet

Tevfik Fikret Tevfik Fikret ( ota, توفیق فكرت) was the pseudonym of Mehmed Tevfik (December 24, 1867 – August 19, 1915), an Ottoman-Turkish educator and poet, who is considered the founder of the modern school of Turkish poetry. Biography Fam ...

, who for some time held the literary direction, was one of Ekrems students at the prestigious

Galatasaray High School Galatasaray High School ( tr, Galatasaray Lisesi, french: Lycée de Galatasaray), established in what was then Constantinople and is now Istanbul, in 1481, is the oldest high school in Turkey. It is also the second-oldest Turkish educational in ...

. Intensive promotion of Turkish literature and literary generations was achieved through the magazine Servet-i Fünun, which Ekrem founded.

References

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* {{Authority control 19th-century writers from the Ottoman Empire 1847 births 1914 deaths Members of the Senate of the Ottoman Empire