Recaizade Mahmud Ekrem

Recaizade Mahmud Ekrem was an Ottoman civil servant, writer, literary critic, 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. He was the son of a poet and scholar, Recaizade İsmail Paşa, and received his formal education at the Academy of Sciences. He started his career as an official in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and later worked in various other branches of the government. He also became a teacher of Turkish literature at the prestigious Galatasaray High School, where he wrote his own teaching material and did a systematic literary scientific work that benefited future generations. He was a friend and colleague of many famous personalities of the time, such as Namık Kemal, Abdülhak Hâmid Tarhan, and Tevfik Fikret. He was also the founder and editor of the famous magazine Servet-i Fünun (Wealth of the Sciences), which was the main organ of the literary movement of the same name. He published many of his works in this magazine, such as his novel Araba Sevdası (Carriage Passion), which is considered the first realistic novel in Turkish literature, and his collection of poems Zemzeme (Whisper), which reflects his personal and lyrical style. He also wrote several plays, such as Vuslat (Reunion), Müsameretname (The Party), and Afife Anjelik (Afife Angelica), which were influenced by French drama and romanticism. He was a pioneer of literary criticism and theory in Turkish literature, and introduced many concepts and terms from European literature, such as realism, naturalism, impressionism, and symbolism. He also wrote essays, biographies, and translations, and contributed to the development of Turkish language and grammar. He died in 1914 in Istanbul and was buried in the Eyüp Cemetery. He was the father of Ercüment Ekrem Talu, who was also a writer and journalist.