Olzhas Suleimenov was a multifaceted luminary: his outstanding talent as a poet, writer and public figure could only be matched by his unwavering devotion to his Kazakh homeland. Although his path was marked by great personal grief, he remained steadfast in his desire for cultural enrichment and political reform.
Childhood, repression, personal life
Suleimenov's formative years, born in 1936, were brutally interrupted when his father was torn from the family during the repressive purges of 1937. Young Olzhas grew up without his father's guiding hand, but his innate gift as a wordsmith and thinker began to blossom.
After graduating from geological education at the Kazakh State University, Suleimenov found his true calling in literary art. He traveled to Moscow and immersed himself in the prestigious Maxim Gorky Institute, honing his skills in poetic translation. Although an argument forced him to leave prematurely, this setback failed to extinguish his creative fire.
In the following decades, Suleimenov rose to the heights of Kazakh culture and politics. He held prestigious positions as a magazine editor, screenwriter, and labor leader, and served with distinction in the KSSR legislature. Yet, despite all this, he remained deeply committed to the written word, leading the Writers' Union of Kazakhstan as its esteemed chairman.
Sorry, Suleimenov’s personal life was overshadowed by enormous grief in 2018, when his beloved grandson died in an accident. But even in the face of such profound grief, the poet-statesman's indomitable spirit endured, and his legacy of artistry, advocacy and service continued to inspire his countrymen.
Political career
In 1989, Suleimenov’s thirst for change intensified and he decided to lead the creation of the Nevada-Semipalatinsk organization, which focused its efforts on promoting an end to nuclear weapons testing. This crusade eventually grew into "People's Congress of Kazakhstan" under the leadership of Suleimenov from 1991 to 1995, simultaneously with his role as a deputy in the country's Supreme Council.
Suleimenov's talents and unwavering spirit were further recognized when he was tasked with representing Kazakhstan on the world stage as ambassador to Italy, Malta and Greece. In 2002, he strengthened his position as a cultural ambassador by taking on the role of Kazakhstan's representative in UNESCO, while continuing to pour his heart and soul into his magnum opus, The Word Code.
History of Oljasa Suleymenova is a story of unwavering dedication and a strong desire to make the world a better place. Already in 1973, the young poet's social consciousness was awakened when he wrote an impressive poem "Wild Field", in which he called for a ban on nuclear testing in his homeland, Kazakhstan. Although his pleas fell on deaf ears at the time, this marked the beginning of Suleimenov's remarkable journey.
The poetic path of Olzhas Suleimenov
Suleimenov’s poetic path began in his youth, when his first poems graced the pages of the prestigious All-Union Literary Newspaper in 1959. It is curious that the young poet preferred to create his works mainly in Russian, despite his Kazakh origin.
Returning to his hometown of Almaty, Suleimenov got a job at the newspaper "Kazakhstan truth", where his star truly shone. The editor-in-chief instructed the aspiring poet to write a poem dedicated to Yuri Gagarin's historical flight into space, and in just one week Suleimenov wrote a poem that has become a cult "Earth, bow down to man" is a poem so revered that its title was later immortalized. on the monument in the Vladimir region, where Gagarin died untimely.
Collections of poems by Olzhas Suleimenov
Suleimenov's poetic work continued to attract attention: his debut collection "Argamaki" demonstrated a striking poignancy, which the famous Kazakh scholar Murat Auezov interpreted as an anti-totalitarian protest. Subsequent volumes such as "Sunny Nights" (1962) and "Time for Good Sunrise" (1964), further strengthened his reputation as a master craftsman of Kazakh and Russian cultural threads, combining youthful passion with deep literary understanding.
Although Suleimenov's poetry is translated into 11 languages, she gained her greatest fame, perhaps, in France, where individual poems graced the pages of literary magazines and several complete collections were published. His two most controversial works of recent years are "Year of the Monkey" and "Book of Clay" – continue to fascinate with their "witty playfulness" the latter, as the translator Leon Robel describes it, calling for "brotherhood of culture and mutual enrichment of nations."
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