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HIS EVALUATION OF OTHER ARTISTS
Mehmet Emin Yurdakul (1869-1944)
"Mehmet Emin is not a national poet.
"He is not provided with any of the qualities of a national poet. Firstly, this poet who is exhibited as a Turkish poet does not write in Turkish. The language of his poems is neither Turkish nor Ottoman; it is a made-up, artificial language which no class, group or individual speaks. [...]
"Mehmet Emin, who is claimed to be a national poet, with which of his writings did he attack those defenders of imperialism like Ziya Paşa, or yet with which of his writings did he become one of the epics of the final struggle as Kemalettin Kami's little poem 'At the Gates of Izmir'. [...]
"How can a poet be a national poet who does not constitute a turning point in the language of the nation he belonged to and who keeps quiet about his nation's struggles?
"How can a poet be a national poet who does not constitute a turning point in the language of the nation he belonged to and who keeps quiet about his nation's struggles?
"Look, it might sound strange to you but recently I discovered a side to Mehmet Emin that rarely comes to light, that is to say his poetship. It is doubtless that he is not a national Turkish poet but a good poet. We had been denying his fundamental side as a result of the suggestions picked up here and there."
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