The work of O‘ljas Sulaymonov

O‘ljas Sulaymonov was born on 18 May 1936 in Almaty, Kazakhstan. His father Umar was a serviceman who became a victim of the repressions in 1937. He graduated from the geology faculty of Kazakh State University and entered the Gorky Institute of World Literature in Moscow. He worked as a newspaper correspondent, a film studio editor and one of the leaders of the Writers’ Union, and in 1995–2001 served as Kazakhstan’s ambassador to Italy, Greece and Malta. He writes in Russian but expresses the national spirit of the Kazakh people; his first book, “Argumaks”, appeared in 1961. The long poem “Qoyilmisan insonga, zamin” made him known worldwide, while his book “Az i Ya” deals with the place of the Turkic peoples in world culture, and his views there have been debated among historians. The three poems in the textbook are given in translation: “Arg‘umoq” is about the speed of a herd of horses and courage; “What Mambet the hero said before his execution” gives the thoughts of a fighting hero lying in a dungeon before execution; “Night comparisons” is a poem about love and self-worth.