Otar Chiladze ( ka, ოთარ ჭილაძე; March 20, 1933 — October 1, 2009) was a

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

n writer who played a prominent role in the resurrection of Georgian prose in the post-

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

era. His novels characteristically fuse

Sumer Sumer () is the earliest known civilization, located in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (now south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age, early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. ...

ian and Hellenic mythology with the predicaments of a modern Georgian intellectual.

Rayfield, Donald Patrick Donald Rayfield OBE (born 12 February 1942, Oxford) is an English academic and Emeritus Professor of Russian and Georgian at Queen Mary University of London. He is an author of books about Russian and Georgian literature, and about Jose ...

(2000), '' The Literature of Georgia: A History'', pp. 283-7.

Routledge Routledge ( ) is a British multinational corporation, multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, academic journals, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanit ...

, .

Life and work

Chiladze was born in Sighnaghi, a town in

Kakheti Kakheti (; ) is a region of Georgia. Telavi is its administrative center. The region comprises eight administrative districts: Telavi, Gurjaani, Qvareli, Sagarejo, Dedoplistsqaro, Signagi, Lagodekhi and Akhmeta. Kakhetians speak the ...

, the easternmost province of then- Soviet Georgia. He graduated from the

Tbilisi State University Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University ( ka, ივანე ჯავახიშვილის სახელობის თბილისის სახელმწიფო უნივერსიტეტი, tr; often shorten ...

with a degree in journalism in 1956. His works, primary poetry, first appeared in the 1950s. At the same time, Chiladze engaged in literary journalism, working for leading magazines in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

. He gained popularity with his series of lengthy, atmospheric novels, such as '' A Man Was Going Down the Road'' (1972–3), '' Everyone That Findeth Me'' (1976), '' Avelum'' (1995), and others. He was a chief editor of the literary magazine ''Mnatobi'' since 1997. Chiladze also published several collections of poems and plays. He was awarded the

Shota Rustaveli Prize The Shota Rustaveli State Prize (created in 1965) is the highest prize awarded by Georgia in the fields of art and literature. The first prize-winners of this prize were Konstantine Gamsakhurdia (writer), Irakli Abashidze (poet) and Lado Gudiashv ...

in 1983 and the State Prize of Georgia in 1993. Chiladze died after a long illness in October 2009 and was buried at the

Mtatsminda Pantheon The Mtatsminda Pantheon of Writers and Public Figures ( ka, მთაწმინდის მწერალთა და საზოგადო მოღვაწეთა პანთეონი, ''mtats'mindis mts'eralta da sazogado mo ...

, where some of the most prominent writers, artists, scholars, and national heroes of Georgia are buried.ქართველი კლასიკოსი ოთარ ჭილაძე გარდაიცვალა
Channel 1. October 1, 2009 His elder brother Tamaz Chiladze was also a writer.

Reception and legacy

Otar Chiladze who became a Georgian classic author during his lifetime was awarded some Highest State Prizes of Georgia and in 1998 was nominated for the

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

along with five other writers. His works have been translated into

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 ...

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 ...

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...

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, Danish,

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, Bulgarian, Hungarian,

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, Slovakian and

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. Otar Chiladze's novels '' A Man Was Going Down the Road'' and '' Avelum'', translated by

Donald Rayfield Patrick Donald Rayfield OBE (born 12 February 1942, Oxford) is an English academic and Emeritus Professor of Russian and Georgian at Queen Mary University of London. He is an author of books about Russian and Georgian literature, and about Jos ...

, were published in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in 2012 and 2013.

Bibliography

* ''Trains and Passengers'', Publishing Sov. Writer, 1959 * ''Clay Tablets'', Publishing Sov. Georgia, 1963, * ''The Child Humored the Guests'', Merani Publishing, 1968 * ''Nine Long Poems'', Publishing Sov. Georgia, 1969, * '' A Man Was Going Down the Road'', Merani Publishing, 1973, Arete 2007 * ''The Other Side of Heart'', Publishing Sov. Georgia,1974 * ''Everyone That Findeth Me'', Publishing Sov. Georgia, 1975, Arete Publishing, 2007 * ''The Iron Theatre'', Merani Publishing, 1981, Arete Publishing, 2007 * ''Remember Life'', Publishing Sov. Georgia, 1984, Pegasi Publishing, 2010 * ''The March Rooster'', Merani Publishing, 1987, Arete Publishing 2007 * '' Avelum'', Merani Publishing, 1995 * ''The Stairs'', Publishing Sani, 2003 * ''The Basket'', Rustavi 2 Print, 2003, Arete Publishing, 2006 * ''Happy Martyr'', Logos Press Publishing, 2003 * ''Tsete's Red Boots'', Pegasi Publishing, 2007. * ''100 Poems'', Intelekti Publishing, 2009 * ''Eternity Ahead'', Intelekti Publishing, 2009 * ''Poetry Collection'', Pegasi Publishing, 2010 * ''The Sky Starts on Earth'', Intelekti Publishing, 2010 * ''The Cloud'', Intelekti Publishing, 2014

Awards and honours

* Literary Award SABA 2003 in category the best novel for The Basket. *

Ilia Chavchavadze Tavadi, Tavadi (Prince) Ilia Chavchavadze ( ka, ილია ჭავჭავაძე; 27 October 1837 – 12 September 1907) was a Georgians, Georgian journalist, publisher, writer and poet who spearheaded the revival of Georgian nationalism ...

State Prize 1997 for Artistic Work. *The State Prize of

1993 for his Contribution to the Georgian Literature. * Shota Rustaveli State Prize 1983 for The Iron Theatre

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chiladze, Otar 1933 births 2009 deaths Writers from Georgia (country) Male poets from Georgia (country) Dramatists and playwrights from Georgia (country) Rustaveli Prize winners 20th-century poets from Georgia (country) Magic realism writers Postmodern writers 20th-century writers from Georgia (country) 20th-century dramatists and playwrights from Georgia (country) Laureates of the State Prize of Georgia (country)