119 years since the birth of Samed Vurgun: how a village boy became the voice of a nation

Today marks the 119th anniversary of the famous playwright, translator, literary critic, public figure, and the first people's poet of Azerbaijan, Samad Vurgun.

Samad Vekilov was born on March 21, 1906, in the village of Yukhary Salakhly in Gazakh district (now Gazakh region of Azerbaijan). When he was six years old, his mother died, and he remained in the care of his father and maternal grandmother, Ayisha-khanum.

After finishing zemstvo school, in 1918 the family moved to Gazakh, where Samad and his only older brother Mekhtikhan enrolled in the Gazakh Teachers' Seminary. In 1922, his father died, and a year later his grandmother, after which the care of the future poet and his brother passed to their cousin Khangizi Vekilova.

S.Vurgun's first work - the poem "Address to Youth" was published in 1925 in the newspaper "Yeni Fikir" in Tiflis (Tbilisi). It was written on the occasion of his graduation from the seminary. His first book - "The Poet's Oath" was published in 1930.

Samad taught literature in rural schools of Gazakh, in Ganja and Guba. He studied for two years at Moscow University (1929-1930), then continued his education at the Azerbaijan Pedagogical Institute.

With the establishment of the Academy of Sciences of the Azerbaijan SSR in 1945, he was elected as a full member (first composition). He was elected as a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR for the 2nd-4th convocations (1946-1956).

Samad Vurgun died on May 27, 1956. He was buried in Baku at the Alley of Honor.

"I set my creative task to reveal the poetry of our reality," said S.Vurgun.

The Great Patriotic War occupies a special place in the poet's work. During the war years, the poet created more than 60 poems, several epic poems, including the poem "Baku Dastan." In 1943, at a competition for the best anti-war works in the USA, S.Vurgun's poem "Mother's Parting Words" received high praise. Among the 20 best poems of world poetry on military themes selected for the competition, it was published in New York and distributed among military personnel.

He accomplished a lot during his life. The most productive period of his work is considered to be the 30s-40s of the last century. In 1935, he wrote 7 epic poems and about 100 poems. He has many popular poems and epics - "Komsomol Poem," "Talystan," "Mughan," "Aygun." Based on his poems, the films "My Seven Sons" and "Aygun" were made. S.Vurgun's famous dramas are "Vagif," "Farhad and Shirin," "The Man." Samad Vurgun was also engaged in literary translation. He translated some works of Taras Shevchenko, Maxim Gorky, Ilya Chavchavadze, and Jambul.

For translating A.S. Pushkin's novel "Eugene Onegin" into Azerbaijani in 1936, he was awarded a medal by the Pushkin Committee, bearing the name of the great Russian poet. In 1936, Samad Vurgun translated part of Shota Rustaveli's poem "The Knight in the Panther's Skin" into Azerbaijani, for which he was awarded the Honorary Diploma of the Georgian SSR.

S.Vurgun's works have entered the Golden Fund of modern Azerbaijani literature.