HAMIT MACIT SELEKLER AND HIS POETRY

Modern Turkish poetry, akin to its Ottoman Tanzimat and Servet-i Fünûn predecessors, is largely shaped by magazines and newspapers. The establishing of daily and weekly magazines and newspapers across Anatolia following the founding of Modern Turkey had given talented young writers a stage upon which they could weave their creative worlds. Babalık -which had been established in the city of Konya during the Second Constitutionalist Period and had continued until 1952- was one such newspaper that played an important role in fostering young writers. Hamid Macit Selekler moreover was one such writer to emerge during Modern Turkey's infancy. It did not take long for Hamid and his esthetically-successful poetry to become the talk of literary circles of the day given the already-present reign of many a major contemporary Turkish poet. The core of his poetic career was sculpted within the pages of Varlık magazine. He also, in following in the footsteps of Yahya Kemal, had taken an interest in poetics. This paper briefly examines Hamid Macit Selekler's life and his place within Turkish poetry, as well as examines Yahya Kemal's influence over his work through numerous examples.