The Poetry and Poets of the Movement of the New Traditionalist and/or New National Literature in Turkish Poetry of the Republic Era: The 1960s Generation

The poets of the generation of the 1960s in the Turkish poetry of the Republic era are those who, despite having the contrasting understandings of worldview, art, literature and poetry, started writing poetry under the shadow of the military coup of 27 May 1960 and within a context of relative freedom created by the 1961 Constitution. Turkish poetry between 1960 and 1970, as well as contemporary Republican Turkish poetry, developed in four vital vessels representing the opposition of worldview, art, literature and poetry. The first of these is the Socialist Realistic poetry and poets, including the poets following the Second New Poetry; the second is the poetry and poets of the New Traditionalist and/or New National Literature; the third is the poetry and poets of the Movement of New Islamic Literature; the fourth is the independent poets and their poetry insights. Despite all the criticism regarding the classification and generationalisation the Turkish poetry of Republic era, these four vessels continued their artistic activities from the 1960s to the present day in competition with each other. External influences, which easily found their way because of the influence of the modernisation activities carried out since the first years of the Republic, display themselves more effectively since the 1960s. This article focuses on the poems and poets of the Movement of the New Traditionalist and/or the New National Literature from the generation of the 1960s, as an important vessel the Turkish poetry of Republic era. The poetry and poets of the Movement of the New Traditionalist and/or New National Literature place themselves at the pole against the Socialist Realistic poetry and poets, and its history goes back to the pre-Republican period, the National Literature or even earlier. This Turkist and nationalistic view of the world and poetry inherited from the pre-Republican era is a movement of poetry and ideas, which had been in trouble for a certain period in the Republican period but was re-established and struggled to create theoretical infrastructure thanks to some poets with transitional functions after the 1960s.

Keywords

Republic, Atatürk, Poetry, Traditionalist, New National Literature, Movement.