Bakhtiyar Vahabzadeh
Bakhtiyar Vahabzadeh (Azerbaijani: Bəxtiyar Vahabzadə; August 16, 1925 – February 13, 2009) was an Azerbaijani poet. Born in Nukha, he moved to Baku in 1934 and studied philology at Azerbaijan State University (1947). He became an assistant at the same department and completed his doctorate with his thesis on the famous Azerbaijani poet Samed Vurgun. Until his death, he worked at the same university as a professor of “Contemporary Azerbaijani Literature” and as a deputy at the parliament of Azerbaijan.
He was recognized in Turkey with his article titled Yel Kaya'dan Ne Aparır? (What Does the Wind Steal from the Stone?), which was published in Varlık and which was an answer to the critics of the poet Fuzuli. His articles and poems also appeared in the review Türk Edebiyatı for years. Besides poetry, Vahabzade also wrote long verses or stories in verse (poems), plays and made translations. Among his long verses, there is the Yollar-Oğullar (Roads-Sons) which was dedicated to the Algerian Independence Movement, and the Mugam, which was dedicated to the composer Üzeyir Hacıbeyli. He wrote numerous lyrics, most of which were set to music and wrote plays such as İkinci Ses (The Second Sound), Yağışdan Sonra (After the Rain), Artığ Adam (Waste Man) and Vicdan (Conscience). He translated the work titled Abidon Felini by Lord Byron into Azerbaijani. His poems have been translated into many languages in the Soviet Union as well as into many Turkic languages and into German, French and Persian. He received the Commodore Medal of the Romania Ministry of Culture in 2002 with his poetry book titled Benim Garibim (My Poor). He has been regarded as the second greatest contemporary poet of Azerbaijan, after Samed Vurgun.[citation needed]
Vahabzadeh died aged 83 on February 13, 2009 in Baku.[1]
Works
Poetry
- Menim Dostlarım (My Friends, 1949)
- Bahar (Spring, 1950)
- Dostlug Nağmesi (Book of Friendship, 1953)
- Ebedî Heykel (Eternal Statue, 1954)
- Çınar (Plane Tree, 1956)
- Sade Adamlar (Plain Men, 1956)
- Ceyran (Currency, 1957)
- Aylı Geceler (Nights at Moon, 1958)
- Şairin Kitaphanası (Library of a Poet, 1961)
- E'tiraf (Confession, 1962)
- İnsan ve Zaman (Man and Time, 1964)
- Seçilmiş Eserler (Selected Works, 1967)
- Kökler-Budağlar (Roots and Branches, 1968)
- Deniz-Sahil (Sea-Coast, 1969)
- Bindörtyüzonaltı (Fourteen sixteen, 1970)
- Dam Yeri (On the Roof, 1974)
- Seçilmiş Eserleri (Selected Works, 2 volumes, 1975)
- Yücelikte Tenhalık (Tranquility in Eminence, 1998)
- Benim Garibim (My Strange, 2002)
Plays
(Translated into Turkish by Yavuz Bülent Bakiler):
- Feryat (Cry, in verse)
- Nereye Gidiyor Bu Dünya (Where is the World Going, 1991)
- İkinci Ses (The Second Sound, 1991)
- Özümüzü Kesen Kılıç-Göktürkler (The Sword on Our Way-Göktürk tribe, 1998; staged by the State Theater, Şinasi Hall, 2000-2001).
- Reqabet