Erkin Vohidov
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Erkin Vohidov (December 28, 1936 – May 30, 2016) was an Uzbek poet, playwright, literary translator, and statesman. In addition to writing his own poetry, Vohidov translated the works of many famous foreign poets, such as
Aleksandr Tvardovsky Aleksandr Trifonovich Tvardovsky ( rus, links=no, Александр Трифонович Твардовский, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr ˈtrʲifənəvʲɪtɕ tvɐrˈdofskʲɪj; – 18 December 1971) was a Soviet poet and writer and chief editor of ' ...
,
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...
,
Muhammad Iqbal Muhammad Iqbal (9 November 187721 April 1938) was a South Asian Islamic philosopher, poet and politician. Quote: "In Persian, ... he published six volumes of mainly long poems between 1915 and 1936, ... more or less complete works on philoso ...
,
Rasul Gamzatov Rasul Gamzatovich Gamzatov (, ; rus, Расу́л Гамза́тович Гамза́тов, p=rɐˈsul ɡɐmˈzatəvʲɪtɕ ɡɐmˈzatəf, a=Rasul Gamzatovich Gamzatov.ru.vorb.oga; 8 September 19233 November 2003) was a Soviet and Russian po ...
, and
Sergey Yesenin Sergei Alexandrovich Yesenin (, ; 1895 – 28 December 1925), sometimes spelled as Esenin, was a Russian lyric poet. He is one of the most popular and well-known Russian poets of the 20th century. One of his narratives was "lyrical evocations ...
into the
Uzbek language Uzbek is a Karluk Turkic language spoken by Uzbeks. It is the official and national language of Uzbekistan and formally succeeded Chagatai, an earlier Karluk language endonymically called or , as the literary language of Uzbekistan in the 19 ...
. Particularly noteworthy are his translations of Yesenin's works and Goethe's ''
Faust Faust ( , ) is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a ...
''. In 1983, Vahidov was awarded the
State Hamza Prize The State Hamza Prize or simply the Hamza Prize, officially the State Prize of the Uzbek SSR Named After Hamza ( uz-Latn-Cyrl, Hamza nomidagi Oʻzbekiston SSR Davlat mukofoti, Ҳамза номидаги Ўзбекистон ССР Давлат м ...
for his poetry collection ''Sharqiy qirgʻoq''. He became a
People's Poet of Uzbekistan People's Poet of Uzbekistan () is an order of the Republic of Uzbekistan. It was known as People's Poet of the Uzbek SSR during the Soviet period. 1963 * Gʻafur Gʻulom—poet, author, publisher, and translator. 1965 * Zulfiya Isroilova—p ...
in 1987. In 1999, he was awarded the title
Hero of Uzbekistan Hero of Uzbekistan (, Cyrillic Ўзбекистон қаҳрамони) is the highest national award in the Republic of Uzbekistan. It is awarded to citizens of Uzbekistan and non-citizens for merit to the country. The title "Hero of Uzbekistan" a ...
, the highest
honorary title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...
that can be bestowed on a citizen by Uzbekistan. Vohidov's poems remain popular and are frequently published in anthologies. Dozens of his poems have been set to music by various artists, mostly notably by
Sherali Joʻrayev Sherali Jorayev (, ; – 4 September 2023) was an Uzbek singer, songwriter, poet, author, and actor. He was an influential figure in Uzbek cultural life for nearly five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1980s and 1990s. H ...
. On occasion of the 75th anniversary of the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
in October 2020, a song entitled "Human" and based on Vohidov's poem "Inson" ("Human") was released with lyrics in
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
,
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...
,
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
, Kazakh,
Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
,
Tajik Tajik, Tajikistan or Tajikistani may refer to. Someone or something related to Tajikistan: Tajik * Tajiks, an ethnic group in Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan * Tajik language, the official language of Tajikistan * Tajik alphabet, Alphabet u ...
,
Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...
and Uzbek.


Life

Erkin Vohidovich Vohidov was born on December 28, 1936, in
Oltiariq District Oltiariq District () is a tuman (district) of Fergana Region in Uzbekistan. The capital lies at the town Oltiariq. It has an area of and it had 219,100 inhabitants in 2022. The district consists of one city ( Tinchlik), 14 urban-type settlement ...
,
Fergana Region Fergana Region is one of the regions of Uzbekistan, located in the southern part of the Fergana Valley in the far east of the country. It borders the Namangan and Andijan Regions of Uzbekistan, as well as Kyrgyzstan (Batken and Osh Regions) and ...
, then the
Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic The Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (, ), also known as Soviet Uzbekistan, the Uzbek SSR, UzSSR, or simply Uzbekistan and rarely Uzbekia, was a Republics of the Soviet Union, union republic of the Soviet Union. It was governed by the Communist ...
. His father, Choʻyanboy Vohidov, fought in the
Soviet-German war The Eastern Front, also known as the Great Patriotic War (term), Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union and its successor states, and the German–Soviet War in modern Germany and Ukraine, was a Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II ...
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 ...
and died 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 ...
after his return from the war. Vohidov was nine years old at the time. He reminisced about the hardships of the war years as follows: In 1945, Vohidov moved to Tashkent with his mother, Roziyaxon Vohidova, who also soon passed away. He was raised by his uncle, Karimboy Sohiboyev. It was Vohidov's uncle who sparked his interest in
poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...
: After graduating from the
National University of Uzbekistan National University of Uzbekistan (NUUz; ) is a public research university located in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. NUUz is the oldest and largest university in Uzbekistan. The National University of Uzbekistan is named after Mirzo Ulugbek. NUUz prof ...
(then Tashkent State University) with a degree in
philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...
in 1960, he started working at various
publishing house Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...
s. Vohidov died on May 30, 2016, at the age of 79.


Work

Vohidov worked as an editor at ''Yosh Gvardiya'', the Uzbek branch of '' Molodaya Gvardiya'', from 1960 to 1963. He also worked as editor-in-chief at the same publishing house from 1975 to 1982. Vohidov also served as editor-in-chief (1963-1970) and director (1985-1987) of ''Gʻafur Gʻulom'', another publishing house in Tashkent. From 1982 until 1985, he worked as the head of the monthly periodical ''Yoshlik'' (''Childhood''). After Uzbekistan gained independence, he worked as chairman of the Committee on International Affairs and Inter-parliamentary Relations of the Oliy Majlis of Uzbekistan (1995-2005) and chairman of the Senate Committee on Science, Education, Culture and Sport (2005-2009). Vohidov started writing poetry during his student years. His first poem was published in the ''
Mushtum ''Mushtum'' (fist in Uzbek) is an Uzbek satire and humor magazine published since 1923. It was founded by Abdulla Qodiriy. In 1927, the magazine began to cooperate with the ''Krokodil'', a similar Russian magazine. ''Mushtum'' has been a startin ...
'' magazine when he was fourteen years old. Vohidov's first collection of poems, ''Tong nafasi'' (''The Breath of Morning''), was published in 1961. In 1987, he published a collection of literary essays entitled ''Shoiru, sheʼru shuur: Adabiy esselar'' (''The Poet, the Poem, and the Mind: Literary Essays''). Vohidov wrote three plays, namely, ''Oltin devor'' (''The Golden Wall''), ''Istanbul fojiasi'' (''The Istanbul Tragedy''), and ''Ikkinchi tumor'' (''The Second Talisman''). His play ''Oltin devor'' was staged in
Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...
,
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
.


Poetry collections

The following is a list of Vohidov's books of poetry: *''Tong nafasi'' (''The Breath of Morning'') (1961) *''Qoʻshiqlarim sizga'' (''My Songs are for You'') (1962) *''Yurak va aql'' (''The Heart and the Mind'') (1963) *''Mening yulduzim'' (''My Star'') (1964) *''Nido'' (''The Appeal'') (1965) *''Lirika'' (''Lyricism'') (1965) *''Palatkada yozilgan doston'' (''The Poem That was Written in a Tent'') (1967) *''Yoshlik devoni'' (''The Diwan of Youth'') (1969) *''Charogʻbon'' (1970) *''Quyosh maskani'' (''The Land of the Sun'') (1972) *''Dostonlar'' (''Poems'') (1973) *''Muhabbat'' (''Love'') (1976) *''Tirik sayyoralar'' (''The Living Planets'') (1978) *''Ruhlar isyoni'' (''The Rise of the Spirits'') (1980) *''Sharqiy qirgʻoq'' (''The East Coast'') (1980) *''Kelajakka maktub'' (''A Letter to the Future'') (1983) *''Bedorlik'' (''Insomnia'') (1985) *''Hozirgi yoshlar'' (''The Youth of Today'') (1986) *''Saylanma'' (''Selected Works'') **''Birinchi jild: Muhabbatnoma'' (''Volume I: Muhabbat-Name'') (1986) **''Ikkinchi jild: Sadoqatnoma'' (''Volume II: Sadakat-Name'') (1986) *''Daraxtlar suhbati'' (''The Talk of the Trees'') (1988) *''Kuy avjida uzilmasin tor'' (''Don't Let the Strings Brake While Playing'') (1991) *''Oʻrtada begona yoʻq'' (''There is No Stranger in Between'') (1991) *''Yaxshidir achchiq haqiqat'' (''The Bitter Truth is Better'') (1992) *''Qumursqalar jangi'' (''Battle of the Ants'') (1993) *''Mening yulduzim'' (''My Star'') (2000) *''Saylanma'' (''Selected Works'') **''Birinchi jild: Ishq savdosi'' (''Volume I: The Quest of Love'') (2000) **''Ikkinchi jild: Sheʼr dunyosi'' (''Volume II: The World of Poetry'') (2001) **''Uchinchi jild: Umrim daryosi'' (''Volume III: The River of My Life'') (2001) * ''Oʻzbegim'' (''My Uzbek People'') (2006) *''Orzuli dunyo'' (''A World With Dreams'') (2010) *''Tabassum'' (''Laughter'') (2010) *''Yangi sheʼrlar'' (''New Poems'') (2014) *''Zamin sayyorasi'' (''Planet Earth'') (2014) * ''Devon: Senga baxtdan taxt tilarman'' (2015) *''Inson'' (''Human'') (2015) *''Saylanma'' (''Selected Works'') **''Birinchi jild: Bahor tarovati'' (''Volume I: The Freshness of the Spring'') (2015) **''Ikkinchi jild: Yoz harorati'' (''Volume II: The Hot of the Summer'') (2015) **''Uchinchi jild: Kuz saxovati'' (''Volume III: The Bounty of the Fall'') (2016) **''Toʻrtinchi jild: Qish halovati'' (''Volume IV: The Quiet of the Winter'') (2016)


Prose

* ''Adabiy portretlar'' (''Literary Portraits'') (1985) (co-author) *''Shoiru, sheʼru shuur: Adabiy esselar'' (''The Poet, the Poem, and the Mind: Literary Essays'') (1987) *''Iztirob'' (''Suffering'') (1991) *''Saylanma'' (''Selected Works'') **''Toʻrtinchi jild: Koʻngil nidosi'' (''Volume IV: The Cry of the Heart'') (2001) *''Soʻz latofati'' (''The Elegance of Words'') (2014) *''Saylanma'' (''Selected Works'') **''Beshinchi jild: Qalb sadoqati'' (''Volume V: The Loyalty of the Heart'') (2018) **''Oltinchi jild: Erk saodati'' (''Volume VI: The Joy of Freedom'') (2018)


Russian translations of his poems

Many of Vohidov's poems were translated into
Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
. The following is a list of his poetry books that were published in Russian: *''Лирика'' (''Lyricism'') (1970) *''Стихи'' (''Poems'') (1974) *''Узелок на память'' (''A Knot to Remember'') (1980) *''Восстание бессмертных'' (''The Rise of the Spirits'') (1983) * ''Линия жизни'' (''The Line of Life'') (1984) *''В минуту песни не порвись, струна...'' (''Don't Let the Strings Brake While Playing'') (1986)


Literary translations

Vohidov translated the works of many famous foreign poets, such as
Alexander Blok Alexander Alexandrovich Blok ( rus, Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Бло́к, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ɐlʲɪˈksandrəvʲɪtɕ ˈblok, a=Ru-Alyeksandr Alyeksandrovich Blok.oga; 7 August 1921) was a Russian lyrical poet, writer, publ ...
,
Aleksandr Tvardovsky Aleksandr Trifonovich Tvardovsky ( rus, links=no, Александр Трифонович Твардовский, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr ˈtrʲifənəvʲɪtɕ tvɐrˈdofskʲɪj; – 18 December 1971) was a Soviet poet and writer and chief editor of ' ...
,
Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright. He was born i ...
,
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...
,
Lesya Ukrainka Lesya Ukrainka (, ; born Larysa Petrivna Kosach, ; – ) was one of Ukrainian literature's foremost writers, best known for her poems and plays. She was also an active political, civil, and feminist activist. Among her best-known works are ...
, Mikhail Svetlov,
Muhammad Iqbal Muhammad Iqbal (9 November 187721 April 1938) was a South Asian Islamic philosopher, poet and politician. Quote: "In Persian, ... he published six volumes of mainly long poems between 1915 and 1936, ... more or less complete works on philoso ...
,
Rasul Gamzatov Rasul Gamzatovich Gamzatov (, ; rus, Расу́л Гамза́тович Гамза́тов, p=rɐˈsul ɡɐmˈzatəvʲɪtɕ ɡɐmˈzatəf, a=Rasul Gamzatovich Gamzatov.ru.vorb.oga; 8 September 19233 November 2003) was a Soviet and Russian po ...
,
Sergey Yesenin Sergei Alexandrovich Yesenin (, ; 1895 – 28 December 1925), sometimes spelled as Esenin, was a Russian lyric poet. He is one of the most popular and well-known Russian poets of the 20th century. One of his narratives was "lyrical evocations ...
, and
Silva Kaputikyan Silva Kaputikyan () (20 January 1919 – 25 August 2006) was an Armenian poet and political activist. One of the best-known Armenian writers of the twentieth century, she is recognized as "the leading poetess of Armenia" and "the grand lady of t ...
into the Uzbek language. In particular, he translated Goethe's ''
Faust Faust ( , ) is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a ...
'' into Uzbek in 1974. Especially noteworthy are his translations of Yesenin's works into Uzbek. Below is Vohidov's translation of Yesenin's farewell poem "Goodbye, my friend, goodbye" (1925): Vohidov's own works in Uzbek have been translated into
Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
,
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
,
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
,
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...
,
Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...
,
Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
,
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
and many other
Turkic language The Turkic languages are a language family of more than 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 West Asia. The Turkic langua ...
s. The Soviet poet
Robert Rozhdestvensky Robert Ivanovich Rozhdestvensky (; 20 June 1932 – 19 August 1994) was a Soviet-Russian poet and songwriter who broke with socialist realism in the 1950s–1960s during the Khrushchev Thaw and, along with such poets as Andrei Voznesensky, ...
thought very highly of Vohidov's work. An example of Vohidov's original work follows (from his poem "Oʻzbegim/Ўзбегим" ("My Uzbek People"):


Poems set to music

Many of his poems have been turned into songs by Uzbek artists. Two of the most famous Vohidov poems that have become the lyrics to well-known Uzbek songs are "Inson" ("Human") and "Oʻzbegim" ("My Uzbek People"), both sung by
Sherali Joʻrayev Sherali Jorayev (, ; – 4 September 2023) was an Uzbek singer, songwriter, poet, author, and actor. He was an influential figure in Uzbek cultural life for nearly five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1980s and 1990s. H ...
.


Legacy

Vohidov is one of the most beloved poets among Uzbeks. Many places and institutions in Uzbekistan are named after him. In 2018, a boarding school bearing his name was established in the city of
Margilan Margilan (, ; ) is a city (2024 pop. 253,500) in eastern Uzbekistan's Fergana Region. Margilan is located in the south of the Fergana Valley, where trade caravans from China traveled westwards and vice versa during the days of the Silk Road. Margi ...
. The following year the Erkin Vohidov museum opened its doors in Margilan. Several books have been written on the life and works of Vohidov, including ''Erkin Vohidov saboqlari'' (''Lessons by Erkin Vohidov'') (2016), ''To quyosh sochgayki nur'' (''As Long As the Sun Shines'') (2016), ''Soʻz sehri'' (''The Magic of Language''), ''Oʻzbegimning Erkin oʻzbegi'' (''The Erkin of My Uzbek People'').


Awards

*
Hero of Uzbekistan Hero of Uzbekistan (, Cyrillic Ўзбекистон қаҳрамони) is the highest national award in the Republic of Uzbekistan. It is awarded to citizens of Uzbekistan and non-citizens for merit to the country. The title "Hero of Uzbekistan" a ...
(1999) * People's Poet of the Uzbek SSR (1987) *
State Hamza Prize The State Hamza Prize or simply the Hamza Prize, officially the State Prize of the Uzbek SSR Named After Hamza ( uz-Latn-Cyrl, Hamza nomidagi Oʻzbekiston SSR Davlat mukofoti, Ҳамза номидаги Ўзбекистон ССР Давлат м ...
(1983) *
Lenin Komsomol Prize Lenin Komsomol Prize () was a Soviet Union, Soviet annual award for the best works in science, engineering, literature or art carried out by young authors of age not exceeding 33 years. Komsomol was the abbreviated name of The Communist Union of ...
(1967) *
Order of the Badge of Honor 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 ...
*
Medal "For Distinguished Labour" The Medal "For Distinguished Labour" () was a civilian labour award of the Soviet Union bestowed to especially deserving workers to recognise and honour high performances in labour or contributions in the fields of science, culture or the manuf ...
* Order of Outstanding Merit (30 November 1996)


Notes


References


External links


Website dedicated to Vohidov's life and work
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vohidov, Erkin 1936 births 2016 deaths People from Fergana Region Uzbeks 20th-century Uzbekistani poets Uzbekistani translators Translators from Russian Translators to Uzbek Uzbekistani male poets 20th-century Uzbekistani male writers Translators of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe People's Poets of Uzbekistan Recipients of Order of Friendship of Uzbekistan Recipients of the Order of Outstanding Merit Recipients of the State Hamza Prize Heroes of Uzbekistan National University of Uzbekistan alumni