Kazakh literature: past and present

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Before the collapse of the USSR, much attention was paid to the national literary art of the Union republics. Now, despite the preservation of cultural and economic ties with the CIS countries, most of the reading population has a very vague idea of what is happening in the literary arena of the same Kazakhstan. Meanwhile, the Kazakh language and literature is a large-scale cultural layer worthy of detailed acquaintance. And we are talking not only about classical works, but also about books by contemporary authors.

Kazakh language and literature

Researchers agree that the time of the appearance of author's works in the national language is the period of the beginning of the 15th century. However, the history of Kazakh folk literature began much earlier and was associated with the development of linguistic traditions.

Medieval authors who created compositions in Chagatai and Persian became its forerunners. On the territory of modern Kazakhstan, ethnic groups belonging to the Turkic language group were distributed, and in some areasfor a long time the Sogdian language of the Iranian group was used. The first runic writing (on wooden tablets) appeared around the 5th-6th centuries.

According to the Chinese chronicles, in the 7th century, the Turkic-speaking tribes already had oral poetic traditions. Traditions about the sacred land and life in the beautiful and protected from all adversity Yergen-Kong valley have been preserved. Poetic elements of the epic are also found on the discovered archaeological monuments, tomb steles.

Oral folk art

In the first, pre-literate literary period, the leading position was occupied by poetic genres and epics. There are three main stages in the history of Kazakh poetry.

1. XV - the first half of the XVIII century. Zhyrau period (folk singer and poet, author and performer of poetic works). The main genre for them was "tolgau", poems in the form of reflections containing advice, edification and aphorisms. In them zhyrau expressed national interests, ideas of unity, justice, glorified the beauty of nature. Such poets were often a serious political force, performing public and even military functions. The earliest works with established authorship date from this period. Among the founders of Kazakh literature are Asan-Kaigy, the author of political poems Bukhar-zhyrau Kalkamanov, akyns (poets-improvisers) Shalkiz and Dospambet.
2. The second half of the 18th - the first half of the 19th century. poetic period. At this time, the genre of poetic song becomes more diverse, in addition to the motive of reflection, there is also"arnau" (conversion, dedication). In their works, akyns began to turn more often to the themes of popular and political struggle. Such problems are typical for the works of Suyunbai Aronuly and Makhambet Utemisov. At the same time, a conservative religious direction was also formed (Murat Monkeev, Shortanbai Kanaev).
3. Second half of the 19th – early 20th centuries. Aitys period. The tradition of aitys, poetic improvisation competitions between akyns, which had developed earlier, was most widespread at that time. Poets of the second half of the 19th century, Zhambyl Zhabaev, Birzhan Kozhagulov, used poetry as a way of expressing social thought and striving for social justice.

The birth of written literature

The first written literary works begin to appear only in the second half of the 19th century in the course of cultural dialogue with Russia and the West. At this time, the modern grammar of the Kazakh language is being formed. The founders of Kazakh written literature, educators Abai Kunanbaev, Shokan Valikhanov, Ibrai Altynsarin are at the origins of these processes.

National literature is gradually acquiring some European features, new stylistic forms appear, in particular, stories and novels. The author of the first novel "Unfortunate Jamal" was the famous poet and prose writer Mirzhakip Dulatov. It was during this period that the modern literary language was formed, translations of the works of M. Yu. Lermontov, A. S. Pushkin, F. Schiller appeared, the first printed books andnewspapers.

In contrast, a literary group of "scribes" (Nurzhan Naushabaev and others) is formed, who collected folklore material and adhered to patriarchal and conservative views.

Founders of Kazakh literature

The literary Kazakh language, which became a normalized version of the folk language, was formed on the basis of the northeastern dialect, which was least influenced by the Persian and Arabic languages. It was on it that Ibrai Altynsarin and Abai Kunanbaev created their works. The latter is a recognized classic of Kazakh literature.

Ibragim Kunanbaev is a poet, public figure, composer, educator, philosopher, reformer in the field of literature, a supporter of rapprochement with Russian and European culture on the basis of enlightened Islam. He was born in 1845 in the Semipalatinsk district in a noble family. “Abay”, a nickname received in childhood, meaning “cautious, attentive”, stuck with him for many years both in life and in literature. The future classic of Kazakh fiction studied at the madrasah, studying Arabic and Persian, while attending a Russian school. He began to write his first poems at the age of 13, hiding his own authorship, but he created his recognized works already in adulthood. His formation as a writer was greatly influenced by the humanistic ideas of a number of thinkers and poets of East and West. Subsequently, he was engaged in translating their works into the Kazakh language and disseminating the ideas of Russian culture.

Abay created more50 translations, about 20 melodies, about 170 poems and poems. One of the most famous was the prose poem "Simple Words" consisting of 45 parables and philosophical treatises. It raises the problems of morality, pedagogy, history and law.

Literary works of the 19th–20th centuries

A feature of the Kazakh literature of the 19th century was the coexistence of two types of writing. On the one hand, used in the works of the so-called scribes, which included a number of borrowings from Arabic and Persian, on the other hand, new written literature, at the origins of which stood Altynsarin and Kunanbaev.

The pre-Soviet period was an important stage in the history of Kazakh literature of the 20th century. At this time, the canons of modern literature and written speech are finally taking shape, new genres and styles appear.

Akhmet Baitursyn became an outstanding literary figure of the beginning of the century. His first work in the field of poetry was the translation of the fables of I. A. Krylov, which was followed by his own poetry collection "Masa". He was also a researcher in the field of linguistics, advocated the purification of the national language from foreign words.

One of the creators of the stylistic structure of the modern Kazakh language was the poet Magzhan Zhumabay. His influence on the development of national poetry is comparable to the influence of Abai. The author's works have been published in most newspapers and magazines.

A bright representative of the writers of that period is Spandiyar Kobeev. His novel Kalym, published in 1913, became a significant event in the history of national literature.

Literature of the Sovietperiod

The spread of Soviet power on the territory of Kazakhstan and joining the USSR had a huge impact not only on the socio-political system, but also significantly changed the vectors of development of national literature. In 1924, the reform of Kazakh writing and spelling began. Initially based on the Arabic alphabet, then on the Latin alphabet (used until 1940). Subsequently, the question was raised about the need for convergence of Kazakh and Russian writing.

In 1926, an association of Kazakh proletarian writers was formed, and a few years later, the Union of Writers of the Kazakh Republic.

Among the brightest writers of Kazakh literature of this period, Sabit Mukanov, Mukhtar Auezov, Beimbet Mailin should be noted.

The events of the Great Patriotic War gave impetus to the development of civil and patriotic poetry and prose. The poems "The Tale of the Death of a Poet", the novels "Terrible Days", "A Soldier from Kazakhstan" were published.

In the post-war period, major literary forms were actively developed, as well as drama (Khusainov) and science fiction (Alimbaev). The famous novel by Mukhtar Auezov "The Way of Abai" was created.

The Soviet period was the heyday of Kazakh children's literature. Here it is impossible not to mention the novels and stories of Sapargali Begalin (“The Herd Girl”, “Falconry”) and Berdibek Sokpakbaev (“Champion”, “Journey to Childhood”). The heroes of these works are brave, hardy guys who face the first difficulties, make a choice, believe in friendship and justice.

Zhambyl's poetryZhabaeva

The works of this national akyn poet are considered classics of Kazakh literature of the Soviet era. He was born in the middle of the 19th century in a nomadic family and lived for 99 years. Having learned to play the domra, he left home as a teenager to become an akyn. For many years he participated in aitys, performing in the tolgau style exclusively in the Kazakh language. He became famous as the author of accusatory songs. During the revolution of 1917, he was already under seventy, however, new trends marked the next stage in the work of Zhambyl. Having imbued with revolutionary ideas, in his works he gave the Soviet leaders the features of the heroes of the epic: “The Song of Batyr Yezhov”, “Aksakal Kalinin”, “Lenin and Stalin”. By the 40s. Zhambyl became the most famous and revered akyn of Kazakhstan, his name was almost a household name.

Despite the politicization of creativity in recent years, his contribution to the development of Kazakh literature is enormous. The poetic manner of Zhambyl is characterized by the simplicity of the narration and, at the same time, psychological saturation, sincerity. In his works he actively combined prose and poetry, oral and literary forms. Over the years of creativity, he created many socio-satirical, everyday, lyrical songs, poems, fairy tales.

Creativity of Olzhas Suleimenov

Another prominent representative of Kazakh literature, whose career began in the Soviet years, is Olzhas Suleimenov. Poet, writer, literary critic, diplomat and public and political figure. First known as the authorlinguistic research, has repeatedly expressed ideas related to nationalism and pan-Turkism.

Olzhas was born in 1936 in the family of a former officer. After graduating from the Faculty of Geology and, after working for some time in his speci alty, he began his journalistic and literary activities, enrolling in a literary institute in Moscow. His first poems were published in 1959 in Literaturnaya Gazeta. Literary success came to Suleimenov two years later, when his poem "Earth, bow to man!", Dedicated to the first flight into space, was published.

After the release of several poetry collections and novels "The Year of the Monkey" and "The Clay Book", at the peak of active social and political activity, in 1975 he wrote the literary work "Az and I. The Book of a Well-Intentioned Reader". In it, Suleimenov draws attention to the numerous borrowings from the Turkic language in Russian, formulates assumptions about the relationship of the Kazakhs and the ancient Sumerians. The book caused a public outcry, was banned, and its author was deprived of the opportunity to publish for 8 years. He continued to develop his ideas at the end of the 20th century, being the Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan to UNESCO.

Modern literary creativity

The general trends in the development of Kazakh literature in recent decades are associated with the desire of the authors to comprehend Western postmodernism and use the received theses in their own work. Well-known works of Kazakh authors are evaluated in a new way. Interest in the heritage of repressed writers has increased.

It is noteworthy that a number of literary layers are now developing in Kazakhstan. For example, there are works by Russian-speaking writers of different nationalities (Kazakhs, Koreans, Germans), as well as Russian literature of Kazakhstan. The work of Russian-speaking authors is an original literary movement that arose from the merger of several cultures. Here you can name the names of Rollan Seisenbaev, Bakhytzhan Kanapyanov, Alexander Kan, Satimzhan Sanbaev.

A number of professional authors with their own artistic style became known to a wide readership not so long ago: Elena Terskikh, Tigran Tuniyants, Aigerim Tazhi, Alexander Varsky and others.

Authors of the 21st century

Today, Kazakh literature is developing entirely in line with global trends, taking into account modern trends and its own capabilities. If we make a literary short list of contemporary authors who deserve the attention of the readership, then at least two dozen names will be included in it. Here are just a few.

Ilya Odegov. Prose writer and literary translator. Author of the works "The Sound with which the Sun Rises" (2003), "Any Love", "Without Two One", "Timur and His Summer". The winner of many awards, in particular, is the winner of the literary competition "Russian Prize" and the winner of the "Modern Kazakh Novel" award.

Karina Sarsenova. Playwright, poetess, writer, screenwriter, psychologist. At the same time, he is the creator of one of the largest production centers in Kazakhstan. Member of the Union of Writers of the Russian Federation andhead of the Eurasian Creative Union. The founder of a new literary genre - neoesoteric fiction. Author of 19 works published in Russia, Kazakhstan, China, as well as film and musical scripts.

Aigerim Tazhi. Poetess, author of the collection "GOD-O-WORDS", numerous publications in literary publications in Russia, Europe, USA, Kazakhstan. Finalist of the literary award "Debut" in the nomination "Poetry", laureate of the award "Steps". Her poems have been translated into French, English and Armenian.

Ayan Kudaykulova. Works in the genre of acute social and psychological prose ("Ring with carnelian", "Eiffel Tower"). Having released her debut novel in 2011, in a couple of years she became the best-selling author in Kazakhstan. The main theme of the works is the problems of the family and society.

Ilmaz Nurgaliev. Fiction writer. The actual founder of the genre of "Kazakh fantasy" with a folklore bias, the author of the series "Dastan and Arman".