Famous American writers Haleh Lisa Ghafori and Christopher Merrill visited Ashgabat as part of the celebration of the 300th anniversary of Magtymguly Fragi.

The visit was supported by the International Writers Program at the University of Iowa.

The writers held a series of creative evenings in Ashgabat about the intricacies of writing and American culture, reports “Turkmenistan: The Golden Age”.

Christopher Merrill is an American poet, essayist, journalist and translator. He led the initiative to obtain the status of UNESCO City of Literature for Iowa City. As the head of the International Writers Program at the University of Iowa, he spoke about the activities of this educational institution.

The participants of the events were involved in discussions about the significance of the legacy of the great poet and thinker of the East Magtymguly Fragi, read the poet’s poems in the Turkmen language, which greatly impressed the American guests.

Foreign writers noted the importance of conveying Magtymguly’s poetry not only in the original, but also in translation into other languages, in order to make it accessible to a wider audience.

For example, poet, translator, musician and teacher Haleh Liza Gafory has Iranian roots. A significant part of her creative work was translating the works of the Persian poet Jalaluddin Rumi into English. Thanks to her subtle sense of oriental poetry, Gafory was able to convey Rumi’s wise philosophical and poetic heritage to the general public.

Liza Gafory read excerpts from Rumi’s poems in an original manner, turning this performance into a kind of master class in reading oriental poetry.

An important part of the cultural exchange was a round table with representatives of the editorial boards of the magazines “Dünýä edebiýaty” and “Garagum”, as well as the newspapers “Nesil” and “Edebiýat we sungat”. During the meeting, current topics of the modern literary process, features of publishing activities and opportunities for cooperation between Turkmen and American authors were discussed.

As part of their visit, American writers will also hold creative evenings in the cities of Dashoguz and Mary, the source notes.

Foreign writers noted the importance of conveying Magtymguly’s poetry not only in the original, but also in translation into other languages, in order to make it accessible to a wider audience.

For example, poet, translator, musician and teacher Haleh Liza Gafory has Iranian roots. A significant part of her creative work was translating the works of the Persian poet Jalaluddin Rumi into English. Thanks to her subtle sense of oriental poetry, Gafory was able to convey Rumi’s wise philosophical and poetic heritage to the general public.

Liza Gafory read excerpts from Rumi’s poems in an original manner, turning this performance into a kind of master class in reading oriental poetry.

An important part of the cultural exchange was a round table with representatives of the editorial boards of the magazines “Dünýä edebiýaty” and “Garagum”, as well as the newspapers “Nesil” and “Edebiýat we sungat”. During the meeting, current topics of the modern literary process, features of publishing activities and opportunities for cooperation between Turkmen and American authors were discussed.

As part of their visit, American writers will also hold creative evenings in the cities of Dashoguz and Mary, the source notes.