P rominent t ajik f igures of the

Iraj Bashiri

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

244

grad (The Stalingrad Anthem, 1971), and Tojikiston--Ismi Man (Tajiki-

stan--My Name, 1974). In 1977, he was recognized as the Poet Laureate

of the USSR. A year later, his compatriot Tajiks honored him as their

State Poet Laureate. Qano'atov gained international attention after his

Mavjhoi Dnepr (Dniepper Waves, 1964), and Dostoni Otash (The Story

of Fire, 1971, were translated into Russian.

Qano'atov is a master in finding representative characters, mostly

from among the working class, to precisely communicate his thoughts

to his reader. To tell the story of Anna, for instance, he spent a few

months among the workers in Norak, getting to know the work in-

volved, as well as the people engaged in the struggle. In Dostoni Otash

(The Story of Fire), then, he tells us about Anna's previous work on the

Volga, before she came to Norak where she is serving in a managerial

position. We see her hopes for reunion with her husband dashed daily,

and we observe her son grow up and become a genuine contributor to

her well-being. Similarly, the untiring efforts of Soviet men and women

defending Stalingrad, are documented in Qano'atov's Stalingrad An-

them. In it, the mother image is most prominent. Two monologues, one

at the beginning and one at the end, glorify both motherhood and moth-

erland.

Innovation, precision, and realism are the hallmarks of Qano'atov's

poetry. He places the reader within the frame of the poem so that the

sights and sounds that have inspired the poem can be experienced.

Qano'atov joined the Union of Writers of Tajikistan in 1961, and

served as its First Secretary between 1977, and 1991.

Qano'atov was recognized as Poet Laureate of the State in 1977, and

won the Rudaki State Prize in 1980. He is the recipient of the Badge of

Honor (1964), the Red Banner of Labor (1982), the Red Banner of

Courage, the 100

th

 Anniversary of the Birth of Lenin Prize (1970), and

the Honorary Order of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of Tajiki-

stan.

Qiomov, Shamsi

Tajik author and translator Shamsi Qiomov was born into a family of

jurists in Samarqand on January 1, 1920.

Qiomov graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts of Moscow Univer-

sity in 1952. Thereafter, he worked for Soviet Tojikiston, the Lahuti

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