Gʻafur Gʻulom (May 10, 1903 – July 10, 1966) was an Uzbek poet, writer, and literary translator. He is best remembered for his stories ''Shum Bola'' (''The Mischievous Boy'') (adapted for

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

in 1977) and ''Yodgor''. Gʻafur Gʻulom is also known for translating the works of many influential foreign authors, such as

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin () was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era.Basker, Michael. Pushkin and Romanticism. In Ferber, Michael, ed., ''A Companion to European Romanticism''. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. He is consid ...

Vladimir Mayakovsky Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky ( – 14 April 1930) was a Russian poet, playwright, artist, and actor. During his early, Russian Revolution, pre-Revolution period leading into 1917, Mayakovsky became renowned as a prominent figure of the Ru ...

, and

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

. He translated '' Le Mariage de Figaro'' of

Pierre Beaumarchais Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (; 24 January 1732 – 18 May 1799) was a French playwright and diplomat during the Age of Enlightenment. Best known for his three #Figaro plays, Figaro plays, at various times in his life he was also a watc ...

, ''

Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...

'' of William Shakespeare, and ''

Gulistan Gulistan, Golestan or Golastan () means "flower land" in Persian language (''gol'' meaning "flower", and ''-stan'' meaning "land"). It may refer to: Places Iran "Golestan" most often refers to: *Golestan province in northeast Iran. * Goles ...

'' of

Saadi Shirazi Abu Mohammad Moshrefoldin Mosleh ebn Abdollah ebn Mosharraf, better known by his pen name Saadi (; , ), also known as Saadi of Shiraz (, ''Saʿdī Shīrāzī''; born 1210; died 1291 or 1292), was a Persian poet and prose writer of the medieval p ...

into Uzbek. Gʻafur Gʻulom is considered to be one of the most influential Uzbek writers of the 20th century. He is also regarded as one of the founders of modern Uzbek poetry, along with Hamza Hakimzoda Niyoziy. Gʻafur Gʻulom received the prestigious

State Stalin Prize The USSR State Prize () was one of the Soviet Union’s highest civilian honours, awarded from its establishment in September 1966 until the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. It recognised outstanding contributions in the fields of science, mathem ...

in 1946 and became a

National Poet A national poet or national bard is a poet held by tradition and popular acclaim to represent the identity, beliefs and principles of a particular national culture. The national poet as culture hero is a long-standing symbol, to be distinguished ...

of the

Uzbek SSR The Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (, ), also known as Soviet Uzbekistan, the Uzbek SSR, UzSSR, or simply Uzbekistan and rarely Uzbekia, was a union republic of the Soviet Union. It was governed by the Uzbek branch of the Soviet Communist P ...

in 1963.

Life

Gʻafur Gʻulomovich Gʻulomov was born to a poor family on May 10, 1903, in

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

. His father, Gʻulom Mirza Orif, knew Russian and was fond of reading poems and could himself write poetry. He died when Gʻafur Gʻulom was only nine years old. Gʻafur Gʻulom first went to a so-called ''old school'', a quasi-Muslim school, and later enrolled in a Russian ''tuzem'' school (), an elementary school for non-Russians in

Turkestan Turkestan,; ; ; ; also spelled Turkistan, is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and East Turkestan (Xinjiang). The region is located in the northwest of modern day China and to the northwest of its ...

. After completing a teacher preparation program, he started to teach at a contemporary school. In 1923, he was appointed the head of the curriculum department at an

orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or abusi ...

. During that time Gʻafur Gʻulom also started working on the editorial board of different publications, such as ''Kambagʻal dehqon'' (''The Poor Farmer''), ''Qizil Oʻzbekiston'' (''Red Uzbekistan''), and ''Sharq haqiqati'' (''The Truth of the East''). Working on editorial boards gave him a chance to learn about the life of ordinary citizens. Gʻafur Gʻulom was also a supporter of the

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

people, and promoted peaceful relations with them. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he wrote a poem called "Men – Yahudiy" or "I'm a Jew". His wife was an

Ashkenazi Jew Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...

. Gʻulom died of illness at the age of sixty three on 10 July 1966, in

. Archives show that he issued denunciations of other Uzbek writers to Soviet authorities. Unlike some of his counterparts who were also informants, he never showed any regret for the denunciations he issued.

Works

Gʻafur Gʻulom's first poetry collections, ''Dinamo'' (''Dynamo'') and ''Tirik qoʻshiqlar'' (''Alive Songs''), were published in 1931 and 1932, respectively. In these books he criticized the unsophisticated traditions of the peoples of Turkestan and praised the diligent work of ordinary citizens. In the 1930s, in addition to numerous short stories, essays, and satirical articles, Gʻafur Gʻulom wrote many longer narratives, such as ''Netay'' (''What Should I Do?''), ''Yodgor'', and ''Tirilgan murda'' (''The Corpse that Came Alive''). During the Soviet-German war against

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

and its

allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

, Gʻafur Gʻulom devoted his time and efforts to writing about the war. His poems ''Sen yetim emassan'' (''You're not an Orphan''), ''Oltin medal'' (''The Golden Medal''), ''Kuzatish'' (''Seeing off''), ''Vaqt'' (''Time''), and ''Sogʻinish'' (''Missing'') became highly popular among Uzbeks. In 1943, Gʻafur Gʻulom became a member of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan. During the last 20 years of his life, he published almost twenty poetry books. Many of his works have been translated into other languages. Gʻafur Gʻulom received many awards and honors throughout his life. He was awarded the

Order of the Badge of Honour The Order of the Badge of Honour () was a civilian award of the Soviet Union. It was established on 25 November 1935, and was conferred on citizens of the USSR for outstanding achievements in sports, production, scientific research and socia ...

in 1944. For his compilation of poems about the Soviet-German war, ''Sharqdan kelayotirman'' (''I'm Coming from the East''), Gʻafur Gʻulom was awarded the

in 1946. He received the

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour () was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to the Soviet state and society in the fields of production, science, culture, literature, the arts, education, sports ...

twice, in 1939 and 1963. He was also twice awarded the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

. In 1970, he was posthumously awarded the

Lenin Prize The Lenin Prize (, ) was one of the most prestigious awards of the Soviet Union for accomplishments relating to science, literature, arts, architecture, and technology. It was originally created on June 23, 1925, and awarded until 1934. During ...

. In 2000, Gʻafur Gʻulom was posthumously awarded the National Order of Merit (), one of independent

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

's the most prestigious medals.

Awards

* Stalin Prize 1st class (1946) *

(1970) * People's Poet of the Uzbek SSR (9 May 1963) *

(16 January 1950, 11 January 1957) *

Order of the Red Banner of Labor The Order of the Red Banner of Labour () was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to the Soviet state and society in the fields of production, science, culture, literature, the arts, education, sports ...

(31 January 1939, 6 December 1951, 9 May 1963) * Order of the Badge of Honor (25 December 1944) * Order of Outstanding Merit (25 August 2000)

Notes

References

External links