Servet-i Fünun

Turkish periodical

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July 13, 2026

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Servet-i Fünun, meaning "The Wealth of Knowledge," was an influential avant-garde Turkish periodical. It was edited by Tevfik Fikret, a pivotal figure in modern Turkish poetry, starting in 1896.12

The publication served as a platform for talented young authors to share Turkish works and translations of European literature, particularly from French. Fikret and his contemporaries aimed to modernize Turkish literature, drawing inspiration from French Symbolist poets and adapting Western themes and verse forms. However, the periodical faced government censorship in 1901, which temporarily halted its publication and momentum. The language used in Servet-i Fünun often incorporated many Arabic and Persian words, making it less accessible to the average reader.2

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Recaizade Mahmud Ekrem
Writing for Servet-i Fünum, an avant-garde literary and sometimes political periodical, Ekrem developed a great following among younger poets. Like many members of the contemporary French Parnassian movement, Ekrem adhered to the principle of “art for art’s sake.”
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Writing for Servet-i Fünum, an avant-garde literary and sometimes political periodical, Ekrem developed a great following among younger poets. Like many members of the contemporary French Parnassian movement, Ekrem adhered to the principle of “art for art’s sake.”
Read More

Tevfik Fikret
…editor of the avant-garde periodical Servet-i Fünun (“The Wealth of Knowledge”) in 1896. Together with a group of the most talented young authors of the day, he published Turkish works and translations of European (particularly French) poems and stories until the publication was temporarily censored by the government in 1901,…
Read More
…editor of the avant-garde periodical Servet-i Fünun (“The Wealth of Knowledge”) in 1896. Together with a group of the most talented young authors of the day, he published Turkish works and translations of European (particularly French) poems and stories until the publication was temporarily censored by the government in 1901,…
Read More

Halit Ziya Uşaklıgil
…Halit Ziya became involved with Servet-i Fünun (“The Wealth of Knowledge”), an avant-garde journal that he and the other writers of the “new literature” published to inform their readers about European, particularly French, cultural and intellectual movements. The hero of one of his greatest novels, Mai ve Siyah (1897; “The…
Read More
…Halit Ziya became involved with Servet-i Fünun (“The Wealth of Knowledge”), an avant-garde journal that he and the other writers of the “new literature” published to inform their readers about European, particularly French, cultural and intellectual movements. The hero of one of his greatest novels, Mai ve Siyah (1897; “The…
Read More