P rominent t ajik f igures of the

Sultonov, Sobir

Tajik poet Sobir Sultonov, also referred to as Sobir Sulton, was born

into a farming family in the village of Shavkat Poyon in the Falghar

district of Zarafshan province on May 9, 1934. He received his early

education in his native town and in Samarqand.

Sultonov graduated from the Dushanbe Pedagogical Institute in

1958. Between 1958 and 1962, he worked at Javononi Tojikiston. In

1965, he joined Radio and Television of Tajikistan as an art and music

specialist, a position that he holds to this day.

Sultonov began his career as a poet with a poem that he published in

Javononi Tojikiston in 1956. Thereafter, many of his poems were

quickly picked up not only by other newspapers and journals, but also

by singers and music composers. His contributions include "Subhi

Umid" ("Morning of Hope," 1973), "Chupondara" ("Shepherd's Val-

ley," 1978), "Taronai Dil" ("A Song from the Heart," 1983), "Oshioni

Mihr"(Love Nest," 1986), "Kui Murod" ("Alley of Desire," 1993), and

"Paiyomi Khurshed" ("The Message of the Sun, 2001).

Sultonov joined the Union of Writers of the Soviet Union in 1984.