2019 proclaimed as year of Imadeddin Nasimi
By Laman Ismayilova
TURKSOY Permanent Council of Culture Ministers has proclaimed 2019 as the year of the great Azerbaijani poet and thinker, Imadeddin Nasimi, as well as the great Turkish poet, Asık Veysel.
The decision was adopted at the council's 36th meeting held in Kastamonu, Turkey, Azertag reported.
Imadeddin Nasimi was the great Azerbaijani poet and eminent figure in the poetry and philosophical thought of the Orient. He was the founder of a school of philosophical poetry in the Azerbaijani language.
Known mostly by his pen name Nasimi, he created a number of works in Azerbaijani, Persian and Arabic.
His poetry is rooted in the social, political and cultural development of the countries of the Near and Middle East, and especially of his homeland, Azerbaijan.
Having thought his life, the poet wrote about 300 poems, including ghazals, qasidas ("lyrics"), and rubais ("quatrains").
His Turkic Divan is considered his most important work, which contains 250–300 ghazals and more than 150 rubais.
After his death, Nasimi's works continued to exercise a great influence on many Turkic language poets such as Fuzuli (1483–1556), Khatai (1487–1524).
By the way, the first ever Nasimi Festival of Poetry, Arts, and Spirituality was held in Azerbaijan on September 27-30 being organized by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and supported by the Azerbaijani Ministry of Culture.
The festival was held under the slogans "Beyond the Limited Self", reflecting the philosophical views of the poet, and "I am a Particle, I am the Sun" which are the poet’s lines.
Exhibitions, installations, video projections, fashion show, concerts were organized as part of the festival.
The project was implemented on an international scale with the participation of world-famous singers, philosophers, scientists, who write about spirituality in modern society, as well as professionals, amateurs in this field and young people.
Asık Veysel was a Turkish minstrel and highly regarded poet of the Turkish folk literature. He was blind for most of his lifetime. The prominent representative of the Anatolian ashug music tradition of the 20th century composed sad tunes, often dealing with the inevitability of death. However, Veysel used a wide range of themes for his lyrics; based on morals, values, and constant questioning on issues such as love and care.
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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova
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