Tajik literature and its history is bound up with the standardisation of the

Tajik language Tajik (Tajik: , , ), also called Tajiki Persian (Tajik: , , ) or Tajiki, is the variety of Persian spoken in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan by Tajiks. It is closely related to neighbouring Dari with which it forms a continuum of mutually intelligible ...

. Tajik literary centres include the cities of

Bukhara Bukhara (Uzbek language, Uzbek: /, ; tg, Бухоро, ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan, with a population of 280,187 , and the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara ...

and

Samarkand fa, سمرقند , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from the top:Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zinda, ...

, currently in present-day

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...

but with a majority Tajik population and

Balkh ), named for its green-tiled ''Gonbad'' ( prs, گُنبَد, dome), in July 2001 , pushpin_map=Afghanistan#Bactria#West Asia , pushpin_relief=yes , pushpin_label_position=bottom , pushpin_mapsize=300 , pushpin_map_caption=Location in Afghanistan ...

and

Herat Herāt (; Persian: ) is an oasis city and the third-largest city of Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Selseleh-ye Safēd ...

in Afghanistan. During the

Soviet era The history of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union (USSR) reflects a period of change for both Russia and the world. Though the terms "Soviet Russia" and "Soviet Union" often are synonymous in everyday speech (either acknowledging the dominance ...

, the principal literary output was

socialist realism Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and was the official style in that country between 1932 and 1988, as well as in other socialist countries after World War II. Socialist realism is ch ...

in nature. Three writers dominated the first generation of Soviet Tajik literature.

Sadriddin Aini Sadriddin Ayni ( tg, Садриддин Айнӣ, fa, صدرالدين عينى, russian: Садриддин Саидмуродович Саидмуродов; 15 April 1878 – 15 July 1954) was a Tajik intellectual who wrote poetry, fiction, j ...

(1878-1954), a

Jadidist The Jadids were Muslim modernist reformers within the Russian Empire in the late 19th and early 20th century. They normally referred to themselves by the Turkic terms ''Taraqqiparvarlar'' ('progressives'), ''Ziyalilar'' ('intellectuals') or simpl ...

writer and educator who turned communist, began as a poet but wrote primarily prose in the Soviet era. His works include three major novels dealing with social issues in the region and memoirs that depict life in the Bukhoro Khanate. Aini became the first president of Tajikistan's Academy of Sciences.

Abu'l-Qasem Lahuti Abolqāsem Lahūtī (russian: Абулькасим Ахмедзаде Лахути, Abuljkasim Ahmedzade Lahuti; tg, Абулқосим Лоҳутӣ / ابوالقاسم لاهوتی, Aʙulqosim Lohutī; 12 October 1887 – 16 March 1957) was ...

(1887-1957; in Tajik, Abdulqosim Lohuti) was an Iranian poet who emigrated to the Soviet Union for political reasons and eventually settled in Tajikistan. He wrote both lyric poetry and "socialist realist" verse. Another poet,

Mirzo Tursunzoda Mirzo Tursunzoda ( tg, Мирзо Турсунзода, 2 May 1911 — 24 September 1977) was an important Tajikistani and Soviet poet and a prominent political figure, full member (academician) of the Tajik Academy of Sciences, a member of ...

(1911-77), collected Tajik oral literature, wrote poetry of his own about social change in Tajikistan, and turned out various works on popular political themes of the moment. Since the generation that included those three writers, Tajikistan has produced numerous poets, novelists, short story writers, and playwrights. Other writers of note during the Soviet period include

Satim Ulugzade Sotim Ulughzoda (Сотим Улуғзода in Tajik, russian: Сатим Улугзаде, Satim Ulugzade, born September 11, 1911 — died June 25, 1997) was a Soviet Tajik writer. He was born in Varzyk in the Namangan region of Uzbekistan and w ...

(1911-1997),

Karim Hakim Hakim Karim (1905–1942) was a Tajiks, Tajik Soviet writer. He was born in Khujand and was educated in a Russian school. He lived in Aktyubinsk for a while, before moving to the capital Dushanbe in 1925 to head the agitprop department of the Tajik ...

(1905-1942),

Pairov Sulaimoni Payrav Sulaymoni ( tg, Пайрав Сулаймонӣ) (1899 – 1933), also transliterated as ''Pairaw Sulaimani'', was a Tajik writer and poet from Samarkand. A reformer of traditional Tajik poetic metrics. References *Iraj Bashiri''Promi ...

(1899-1933),

Rozia Ozod Roziya Boimatovna Ghafurova, better known as Roziya Ozod (January 18, 1893 – 1957), was a Tajikistani poet of the Soviet era. Ozod was born in Khujand into the family of a merchant, and received her early education in the traditional schools bef ...

(1893-1957),

Aminjan Shokuhi Aminjan Shokuhi was a Tajik Tajik, Tadjik, Tadzhik or Tajikistani may refer to: * Someone or something related to Tajikistan * Tajiks, an ethnic group in Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan * Tajik language, the official language of Tajikistan ...

(1923-??),

Mohammad Jan Rahimi Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monothe ...

(1901-??),

Bobo Yunas Bobo may refer to: Animals and plants * Bobo (gorilla) a popular gorilla at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle from 1953 to 1968 * Bobo, Vietnamese name for Job's tears, a plant of south-east Asia Entertainment, arts and media * ''Bobo'' (maga ...

((1885-1945)), Habibulo Nazarov (1907-??),

Abdul Salem Dehati Abdul (also transliterated as Abdal, Abdel, Abdil, Abdol, Abdool, or Abdoul; ar, عبد ال, ) is the most frequent transliteration of the combination of the Arabic word '' Abd'' (, meaning "Servant") and the definite prefix '' al / el'' (, mea ...

(1911-??),

Baki Rahim Zadeh Baki ( ar, باقي) may refer to: Places * Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan ( az, Bakı) * Baki District of the Awdal region in Somalia *Baki town, Somaliland * Baki, Afghanistan * Baki, Sukoharjo, a subdistrict in Sukoharjo Regency, Jawa Tengah ...

(1910-??),

Rahim Jalil Rahim (''Raḥīm'' , also anglicized as Raheem) is one of the names of Allah in Islam, meaning "Merciful", from the root '' R-Ḥ-M''. It is also used as a personal male name, short for Abdu r-Raḥīm "Servant of the Merciful". Spellings include ...

(1909-??), Jalal Ekrami (1909-??), Aminzadeh Mohiedin (1904-??), Juhari Zadeh Sohayli (1900-??), Faizollah Ansari (1931-??),

Mirzo Ghafar Mirza may refer to: * Mirza, Kamrup, town in Assam, India * Mirza (name), historical royal title & noble * ''Mirza'', the genus of giant mouse lemur * "Mirza", song by Nino Ferrer * ''Mirza – The Untold Story'', Punjabi action romance film wri ...

(1929-??), Mir Shakar (1912-??), Mohiadin Farhat (1924-??) and

Ahmad Danesh Ahmad ( ar, أحمد, ʾAḥmad) is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other spellings of the name include Ahmed and Ahmet. Etymology The word derives from the root (ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from the ve ...

Notable writers

Mirzo Abdulvohid Munzim Mirza may refer to: * Mirza, Kamrup, town in Assam, India * Mirza (name), historical royal title & noble * ''Mirza'', the genus of giant mouse lemur * "Mirza", song by Nino Ferrer * ''Mirza – The Untold Story'', Punjabi action romance film wri ...

Pairav Sulaimoni Payrav Sulaymoni ( tg, Пайрав Сулаймонӣ) (1899 – 1933), also transliterated as ''Pairaw Sulaimani'', was a Tajik writer and poet from Samarkand. A reformer of traditional Tajik poetic metrics. References *Iraj Bashiri''Promi ...

* Abulqosim Lohuti * Sadri Ziyo *

Sotym Ulughzoda Sotim Ulughzoda (Сотим Улуғзода in Tajik, russian: Сатим Улугзаде, Satim Ulugzade, born September 11, 1911 — died June 25, 1997) was a Soviet Tajik writer. He was born in Varzyk in the Namangan region of Uzbekistan and w ...

Laiq Sher-Ali Layeq Sherali (1941–2000, in Tajiki/Persian: Лоиқ Шералӣ/لائق شیرعلی, sometimes also Romanised as Laeq or Laiq or Loiq) was a Tajik poet, Iranologist and one of the most celebrated Persian literary figures of Tajikistan an ...

* Bozor Sobir *

Muhammadjon Shukurov Muhammadjon Shakuri ( tg, Муҳаммадҷон Шакурӣ, fa, محمدجان شکوری; February 1925, in Bukhara – September 16, 2012, in Dushanbe), also known as Muhammad Sharifovich Shukurov, was a prominent Tajik intellectual and one of ...

* Sattor Tursun * Бободжон Гафуров

References

* Perry, J. R. (1996) "Tajik literature: Seventy years is longer than the millennium" in ''World Literature Today'', Vol. 70 Issue 3, p. 571 * Library of Congress - Country Studies - Tajikistan {{Tajikistan-stub Iranic literature Tajik language

Notable writers

See also

References