Tatar literature ( tt-Cyrl, татар әдебиет) consists of

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

in the

Tatar language Tatar ( or ) is a Turkic languages, Turkic language spoken by Volga Tatars, Tatars mainly located in modern Tatarstan (European Russia), as well as Siberia. It should not be confused with Crimean Tatar language, Crimean Tatar or Siberian Tat ...

, a

Turkic language The Turkic languages are a language family of over 35 documented languages, spoken by the Turkic peoples of Eurasia from Eastern Europe and Southern Europe to Central Asia, East Asia, North Asia (Siberia), and Western Asia. The Turkic languag ...

spoken in the

Republic of Tatarstan The Republic of Tatarstan (russian: Республика Татарстан, Respublika Tatarstan, p=rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə tətɐrˈstan; tt-Cyrl, Татарстан Республикасы), or simply Tatarstan (russian: Татарстан, tt ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. Tatar literature is a part of Tatar society and has been part of Tatar history since the existence of a Tatar state. Famous Tatar poets include Kasim Bikkulov,

Ğabdulla Tuqay Ğabdulla Tuqay (tatar. ''عبد الله توقای,'' – ) was a Tatar poet, critic, publisher, and towering figure of Tatar literature. Tuqay is often referred to as the founder of the modern Tatar literature and the modern Tatar literary l ...

, and

Näqi İsänbät Näqi İsänbät ( tt-Cyrl, Нәкый Исәнбәт ; russian: Наки Исанбет, ''Naki Isanbet'', also anglicised as ''Nakie Isanbet''; December 29, 1899 – September 12, 1992) was a Tatar writer, an encyclopaedist, a poet, a playwright, ...

History

Tatar literature started nearly one thousand years ago. The most famous piece of early Tatar literature is The Story of Yusuf by Qol Ghali. Grammar of the Tatar literary language was different from standard Tatar as it had more

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

, and

Old Turkic Old Turkic (also East Old Turkic, Orkhon Turkic language, Old Uyghur) is the earliest attested form of the Turkic languages, found in Göktürks, Göktürk and Uyghur Khaganate inscriptions dating from about the eighth to the 13th century. It ...

words and during the Russian invasion of Tatarstan and occupation, Tatar poets still used the

Arabic script The Arabic script is the writing system used for Arabic and several other languages of Asia and Africa. It is the second-most widely used writing system in the world by number of countries using it or a script directly derived from it, and the ...

even though it was banned by the Russian authorities. Tatars also used literature for their religion,

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

. In the 18th century, Kazakh poet,

Abay Kunanbayev Ibrahim (Abai) Qunanbaiuly ( kk, Абай Құнанбайұлы, ; russian: Абай Кунанбаев; ) was a Kazakh poet, composer and Hanafi Maturidi theologian philosopher. He was also a cultural reformer toward European and Russian cultu ...

wrote many poems in Tatar. Tatar literature started to become popular during the 20th century and throughout 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 ...

especially during the

Space Race The Space Race was a 20th-century competition between two Cold War rivals, the United States and the Soviet Union, to achieve superior spaceflight capability. It had its origins in the ballistic missile-based nuclear arms race between the tw ...

. The city of

Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering a ...

was most famous for its literature because of Musa Dzhalil, a poet who wrote works in both Tatar and

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

Modern Day

The government of Tatarstan established an organization for Tatar literature called the Department of Tatar Literature.

References

{{reflist Tatar culture