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Laman Ismayilova

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In Sweden, an online scientific and practical conference has been held to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Bakhtiyar Vahabzadeh, a renowned Azerbaijani poet, playwright, literary scholar, and influential thinker, Azernews reports.

The event was organised by the Gobustan Azerbaijani Thinkers' Society operating in Sweden, with nearly 40 guests from Sweden, Azerbaijan, Turkiye, Russia, and Germany participating.

The society's chairperson and the moderator of the event, Saadat Karimiy, delivered an opening speech in which she spoke about Bakhtiyar Vahabzadeh's intellect, recited various poems from his works.

The main speaker at the conference was literary scholar, Doctor of Philology, Professor at Khazar University, member of the Azerbaijani Writers' Union and the Azerbaijani Journalists' Union, and head of the Department of Asian Nations' Literature at the Nizami Institute of Literature of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, Badirxan Ahmadli. In his speech, he thoroughly analysed Vahabzadeh’s creative work using literary criticism criteria.

The event also featured speeches by Masud Afandiyev, Chairman of the World Azerbaijani Scholars' Union; researchers Namig Murad, Nazim Muradov, Ali Shamil, Asif Rustamli, Aida Mirzayeva, Sariye Gundogdu, Pervane Bayram; poet Giymat Maharramli; Turkmen writer Ak Welsapar; Turan Ibrahimov, and Abdulla Amir Hashimi.

They spoke about the poet's literary heritage, themes of patriotism and nationalism, freedom and spiritual values in his poetry, his contributions to the Turkic world, his role in educating the youth, and the significance of his creative work in the modern era.

Bakhtiyar Vahabzadeh (1925-2009) was a prominent Azerbaijani poet, playwright, lyricist, translator, academic, and political figure. He is widely considered to be one of the most outstanding modern poets of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Vahabzadeh was born in 1925 in Nukha, a place where his bust now resides in a central square. In 1934, he relocated to Baku with his family, and he subsequently pursued studies in philology at Azerbaijan State University.

Throughout his career, Vahabzadeh explored a variety of themes, particularly focusing on Azerbaijan, family, nature, language, and freedom.

For many years, his articles and poems appeared in the Turkish literary magazine Türk Edebiyatı, earning recognition in Turkiye. His notable work, "Yel Kaya'dan Ne Aparır?" (What Does the Wind Steal from the Stone?) was an article published in the Turkish literary journal Varlık that addressed critics of the medieval Azerbaijani poet Fuzuli.

Vahabzadeh received the Azerbaijan SSR State Prize as an honoured arts worker in 1974, and in 1984, he was awarded the Soviet Union's State Prize.

The following year, he was honoured with the title of People's Poet. In 2002, he was awarded the Commodore Medal by the Romanian Ministry of Culture for his poetry collection "Benim Garibim".