The Olzhas Phenomenon

This collection is a unique anthology of writings dedicated to the Kazakh poet, thinker, politician, diplomat and anti-nuclear activist Olzhas Suleimenov. Comprehensive in its breadth and scope, it contains contributions by scholars, writers, and fellow poets. Spanning the past half century, these articles, essays, and poems enable the English-speaking reader to become more fully acquainted with Olzhas Suleimenov and his work. Olzhas Suleimenov shot to fame in the USSR with his poem Earth, bow down to Man! written to celebrate Yuri Gagarin's 1961 flight into space. The poet's most infl uential and controversial work, Az iYa, was published in 1975 and brought him world-wide recognition. Among our eminent contemporaries we know of no other poet who arouses so much passion in his readers. The editor of this book has selected those articles and publications which best present Olzhas Suleimenov as both poet and citizen. The book is designed for those who admire the great poet and thinker, and also for those conducting research into his creative work. Some of the contributions in this collection were originally published in the former USSR, others in modern-day Kazakhstan, and others abroad. For Olzhas Suleimenov has not only been written about in his home country, but also beyond its borders - in the countries of the CIS, and further afield - France, Great Britain, Germany, and Poland, to name a few. Selections of his poems have been published quite recently in the USA, and in the past his works have seen repeat publication in France, Germany, Italy and elsewhere. Throughout all of the difficulties and changes in the lives of the peoples of the countries of the former Soviet Union, Olzhas Suleimenov has remained the most translated and most read poet from the Kazakh world. This collection aims to present the most characteristic features of the life and work of the phenomenon that is Olzhas.