Abstract
Like other branches of fine arts, literature, and power have always had elbow contact. Over the centuries, Turkish poets established poetic relations with the then-rulers, the sultans, and high-ranking statesmen. They often wrote poems of praise, and sometimes they wrote critical poetry. However, since the beginning of the westernization period, that is, from the gradual decline of central authority, after the demise of the empire and the establishment of the nation-state, these relations gained a completely different dimension. The relation with the power of Yahya Kemal, who was born during the period of Abdülhamid, and who witnessed the Constitutional and National Struggles and the establishment of the Republic, became a matter of debate. Some poets, researchers, and literary historians have heard quite speculative opinions about Yahya Kemal’s attitude over political power. In this study, we critique these comments and evaluations, and we emphasize the neutral position of the poet in relation to the state and its policies.
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