MAGJAN JUMABAYEV AND THE POEM “TURKISTAN”

Abstract

Magjan Jumabayev is the greatest national poet of the 20th century Kazakh Literature. Magjan whose his first poetry book was published when he was 19 was recognized by the Kazakh literary communities at his early ages. As all the other feelings, he uttered his feelings of nationalism faithfully and he was accepted as a poet of “feeling”. From his childhood and adolescence periods, especially his teachers played a leading role in his turning towards the national issues. Especially Mirjakıp Duvlatov, Alihan Bökeyhanov and Ahmet Baytusunov who he met during his adolescence period were the figures influencing him mostly in this issue. His arrival to Tashkent in 1921 caused him to observe the ancient culture and civilization of Turkistan closely. The poem Turkistan is his mostly known poem written on the topic of nationalism. In this poem of Magjan, the geography that he defined as Turkistan is in fact the lands of today’s Middle Asia. While expressing his feelings and thoughts about these lands in the poem Turkistan, Magjan portrayed himself as a part of these lands.

Keywords

• kazakh literature
• magjan jumabayev
• turkistan
• alaş intellectuals
• national literature.