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The time that can be called contemporary in Turkish literature falls in the period between the middle of the 20th century and the first years of the new millennium. Throughout this period many changes in literary discourse have occurred. Together with the fall of the Ottoman Empire and foundation of the Turkish Republic brought a different way to Turkish literature together with the effect of Westernization on Turkish writers. The literature of the new republic emerged largely from the pre-independence National Literature movement, with its roots simultaneously in the Turkish folk tradition and in the Western notion of progress. One important change to Turkish literature was enacted in 1928, when Mustafa Kemal initiated the creation and dissemination of a modified version of the Latin alphabet to replace the Arabic-based Ottoman script. Over time, this change—together with changes in Turkey's system of education— would lead to more widespread literacy in the country. In 1950s, Turkish authors started to write in the tone of their western contemporaries bringing a new sense of literature to the country.
All of the salient aspects of Turkish life, politics and culture have found their direct or indirect expression in poetry, fiction, and drama, as well as in critical and scholarly writing. The themes and concerns have included nationalism, social justice, search for modernity. Westernization, revival of folk culture, economic and technological progress, human dignity, mysticism, pluralistic society, human rights and fundamental freedoms, democratic ideals, Atatürkism, Turanism, Marxist–Leninist ideology, revival of Islam, humanism in fact all aspect and components of contemporary culture found a voice in literature.
All stages of modern Turkish history (reforms under Atatürk, 1923–38; consolidation under Inonu, 1938–59; democracy under Menderes, 1950–60) have been marked by the thrust of literary modernization. Since the mid-nineteenth century, the most vital debate of Turkish literature has been between the proponents of art for art's sake and the advocates of commitment to realism and social causes. Mustafa Kemal in a conversation that took place in 1921, about two years before he proclaimed the Republic, exhorted the 19 years old Nazim Hikmet, already a famous poet, who would soon embrace the communist ideology and influence the course of modern Turkish literature, particularly poetry, more profoundly than anyone else. Since 1950, there has been a massive output, in all genres, depicting the plight of the lumpen proletariat. But surrealism, neosymbolism, theater of the absurd, stream of consciousness, hermeticism, black comedy and so on have also flourished.