Vagif
(1939- ), the son of famous Azerbaijani poet Samad Vurghun, has
just been named National Poet of Azerbaijan by President Aliyev.
"Far Green Island" (Uzag, Yashil Ada), his third volume of poetry, is now
available in Azeri Cyrillic. In his poems, many written in the
1960s, Vagif tells what it was like to be a poet who was supposed
to praise the Soviet system with every word. "The day I
took up my pen, I discovered that I was a slave," Vagif
writes. Many of the poems in this volume could not be made public
until after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
"Far Green Island" and Vagif's previous volume, "God,
I Am Here," are available via local bookstores in Baku or
by contacting AI at ai@artnet.net.
Vagif
(1939- ), the son of famous Azerbaijani poet Samad Vurghun, has
just been named National Poet of Azerbaijan by President Aliyev.
"Far Green Island" (Uzag, Yashil Ada), his third volume of poetry, is now
available in Azeri Cyrillic. In his poems, many written in the
1960s, Vagif tells what it was like to be a poet who was supposed
to praise the Soviet system with every word. "The day I
took up my pen, I discovered that I was a slave," Vagif
writes. Many of the poems in this volume could not be made public
until after the collapse of the Soviet Union.