Journals hold a significant place within our literary, cultural, artistic, and intellectual history. One of these journals is Değirmen, which was published under the subheading “Monthly Journal of Thought, Art, and Ethics” between 1942 and 1944. Despite its brief twelve-issue existence, Değirmen managed to secure its place among the notable journals of the 1940s with both its intellectual and literary writings, as well as contributions from prominent writers and poets of that era. Encompassing a wide range of accumulations spanning literature, history, art, philosophy, thought, and criticism, the journal features a rich content, particularly in the realm of poetry and writings about poetry. This article aims to provide a thematic evaluation of the poems and writings related to poetry within Değirmen. In this regard, firstly, general information about the journal’s formal characteristics, editorial policy, content, and roster of authors and poets has been provided in the introduction section. Subsequently, the poems within the journal have been categorized and analyzed based on their thematic aspects. These poems, prominently centered around individual themes, are found to address key themes such as “death,” “love,” “separation/exile,” “longing for the past/passage of time,” “pessimism/despair,” “life, problems, and loneliness of the individual in the metropolis,” “joy/happiness,” “childhood,” and “nature.” Furthermore, this article has also emphasized the impact of the intellectual and literary movements of the period on the formal and content-related characteristics of the poems. On the other hand, this study has evaluated the essays concerning the poems in the journal as a whole under a separate heading. In this regard, this article aims to contribute to determining the place and significance of the journal within literary history.

Değirmen, journal, poem, literature, theme.