Tevfik Fikret was born in Istanbul, Ottoman Empire, in 1867. He was educated at the prestigious Galatasaray Lisesi, where he later became principal. His sister suffered a tragic early death. His works were deeply influenced by the French Symbolists, many of whose works he translated into Turkish. Possessor of a bold, innovative style, his use of frequently arcane words contributed to the difficulty of his work.
Along with many of his avant-garde contemporaries, he contributed to the literary magazine Servet-i-Fünun ("the Wealth of Knowledge") until it was censored by the Ottoman government in 1901. Fikret's volumes of verse include Rubab-i-Sikeste ("The Broken Lute") from 1900 and Haluk-un-Defteri ("Haluk's Notebook") from 1911.
