During Stalin's reign, like elsewhere in the Soviet Union, many of the country's writers and artists were victims of the great purge, either exiled or executed.

Historically the poet Nizami Ganjavi dominates Azeri literature (born in Ganca, although the Iranians claim him as being a Persian author). Among his works one should mention: the didactic poem "The Treasure house of Mysteries" written in 1173 and containing twenty chapters and "talks," with preaching and parables woven into the fabric of the narrative; his historico-philosophical poem "Iskandar-Nama" (Alexander the Great), his lyric poems that  glorify the purifying and ennobling love of "Khosrow and Shirin" (1181) "Seven Beauties" (1197), and "Layla and Majnun" (1188).

The story of "Layla and Majnun" is one of the best known legends of the Orient, both a touching love story and a profound spiritual allegory. The two lovers of this classic tale are remembered to this day in the poems and songs from the Caucasus to the interior of Africa, and from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean.

Nizami collected a number of folk versions and shaped them into a single  narrative poem of some 4,000 stanzas near the end of the twelfth century. Compared for its beauty and genius to Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet", the Sufis consider Nizami's "Layla and Majnun" an important parable of religious experience. Majnun, through his great love for Layla, is able to transcend individual identity and becomes the Beloved.

"Ali and Nino": is the quintessential Baku historical love story, is an adventure romance published under the pseudonym Kurban Said, the pen name of Baku-born Jewish author Lev Nussimbaum. The novel is set shortly before and after the Russian revolution. Ali Khan Shirvanshir, descendant of a noble Muslim family, is educated in a Russian boy's college. While his father is still completely a part of Asia, Ali is exposed to Western values in school and through his love for Georgian Christian girl, Nino, who belongs to the European world.  The book describes the love of Ali for Nino, as well as the Ali Khan Shirvanshir's travels to Daghestan, Karabakh, Georgia and Iran.

Should you become interested in deepening your knowledge of Azeri literature, only the classic works are available in Western European languages, e.g.:
 

Chosrou und Schirin; (German) Ganjavi, Nizami; DTV, Munich, 1993 ISBN: 3423240296 Die Abenteuer des Königs Bahram und seiner sieben Prinzessinnen.   (German) Ganjavi, Nizami; Beck, Munich, 1997 ISBN: 3406427804 Die sieben Geschichten der sieben Prinzessinnen; (German) Ganjavi, Nizami; Manesse-Verlag., Stuttgart, 1959 ISBN: 3717513168

Haft Paykar; (English) Ganjavi, Nizami; Oxford Paperbacks, 1995 ISBN: 0192831844 Layla and Majnun; (English) Ganjavi, Nizami; Blake Publishing Ltd, 1997 ISBN: 1857821610 Leila und Madschnun; (German) Ganjavi, Nizami; Manesse-Verlag., Stuttgart, 1963 ISBN: 3717513141

 
 
 

Books about Azerbaijan

Today it's still not very easy to get reference literature before travelling to Azerbaijan, either for tourism or business purposes. Here are a few titles that may be useful for the foreign visitor:
 

Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia  Curtis, Glenn; Claitors Pub Div., 1995 ISBN: 9996317617  Azerbaijan Diary: A Rogue Reporter's Adventures in an Oil-rich, War-torn Post-Soviet Republic; Goltz, Thomas; M.E.Sharpe, 1998 ISBN: 0765602431 Azerbaijan - Land of Fire; (pictorial book) Azerbaijan International, Sherman Oaks, CA, 1996 ISBN: 0-9654388-0-5 Azerbaijan - Then and Now; Lerner Geography Dept.;  Lerner Publications Company, 1993 ISBN: 082252810X  Azerbaijan with Georgia; Elliott, Mark; Trail Blazer Publications, 1999 ISBN: 187375633X  Baku - A Guide; Agayev, Emil; Raduga Publishers, Moscow 1987 ISBN: 5-05-001183-3 Doing Business with Azerbaijan Kettaneh, Nadine; Kogan Page, 1999 ISBN: 0749431660

Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan - Former Soviet States;  Roberts, Elizabeth and Akiner, Sharon;  Millbrook Press, 1992 ISBN: 156294309X History of Azerbaijan Leeuw, Charles Curzon Press, 1999 Oil and Azerbaijan; Powrie, Rhoderick; Arguments & Facts International, 1994 ISBN: 1873976097 Russia and Azerbaijan; (historical and political) Swietochowski, Tadeusz; Columbia Univ Press, 1995 ISBN: 0231070683 The Azerbaijani Turks: Power and Identity Under Russian Rule  Altstadt, A.L. and Vucinich, W.C.; Hoover Institution Press, 1992 ISBN: 0817991824 The Investor's Guidebook: Armenia, Azerbaijan; The Stationery Office Books, 1999 ISBN: 0117021628

 
 

Bookshops in Baku

Considering the love of Azeris for literature it's hardly a surprise that Baku is a pleasure for the book lovers. Books abound and are cheap. You literally stumble into them on the street! (There's a bookshop even on the "oil rocks" complex on the Caspian Sea). Naturally books come mostly in Azeri and Russian. You will still find vast numbers of books in Azeri printed in Cyrillic, but the latin alphabet editions are now taking over. Old editions are not difficult to find. Some of the bookshops in the Baku area:
 

Akademkniga 51 Istiglaliyat  Tel: 922 230  Azerkitab 8 A. Alizade  Tel: 934 583  Chiraq Bookstore 4 Zargar Palan St. Phone: 492-3289 Email: Chiraq@Galacticomm.org Note: wide selection of English language books Dalga 93 Neftchilar av.  Tel: 920 311  Dom Kinigi 1 Khagani  Tel: 930 215 Dom Kinigi 7 M. Hady, Ahmmadli Settlement  Tel: 755 854  Bookshop nr. 1 8 Micro District Tel: 389 194  Bookshop nr. 2 Fountain square  Tel: 931 880  Bookshop nr. 9 47 Nobel av.  Tel: 755 854/755 958  Bookshop nr. 12 39 Istiglaliyat  Tel: 925 749

Bookshop nr. 14 29 N. Refibeyli  Tel: 947 516  Bookshop nr. 17 6/8 J. Jabbarly  Tel: 946 973  Bookshop nr. 34 73 Neftchilar av.  Tel: 924 554  Bookshop nr. 35 3 H. Hajiev  Tel: 943 989  Bookshop nr. 51 79/2 Moscow av.  Tel:  669 940  Bookshop nr. 54 12/14 Pushkin  Tel:  987 294  Bookshop nr. 64 12 Ataturk av.  Tel: 641 182  Bookshop nr. 71 21 Hasanogly  Tel: 641 985  Bookshop nr. 122 S. Vurgun  Tel: 954 523 Nizami Bookshop 62 Nizami st. Tel. 383 446

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