Nationalist sentiments, which gained in strength after the Second Mesrutiyet (the Second Period of Constitutional Monarchy) affected literature. The principle of turning to national and domestic sources for inspiration became the characteristic of the National Literature Movement. The movement which started with the Genc Kalemler (Young Pens), a periodical issued by Ali Canip Yontem, Omer Seyfettin and Ziya Gokalp, soon attracted authors who had identified themselves with other approaches to art.
Authors who joined this movement wrote in a simple, clear and relatively pure Turkish, dealt with the problems of the country and national values in their works. In the novel and short story, Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoglu, Halide Edip Adivar, Resat Nuri Guntekin and Refik Halit Karay produced the best examples of this movement. The poets of the period had different world-views and widely differing approaches to poetry. For instance, Mehmet Akif Ersoy, the author of the Turkish National Anthem, who used the strict prosodic meters of Divan poetry (aruz) in his poems, instead of syllabic rhyme ( the main characteristic of the movement), was inclined to write on social issues in a realistic manner. Yahya Kemal Beyatli, who was accepted as a traditionist and the defender of Ottoman style, developed a neo-classical poetry, and Ahmet Hasim, who excluded himself from the dominant ideologies defended thePure Poem with an impressionistic and symbolistic perception.