P rominent t ajik f igures of the

Qano'atov, Mu'min
Tajik poet Mu'min Qano'atov, also referred to as Mu'min Qano'at,
was born on May 20, 1923, in the Autonomous Badakhshan region of
the Pamirs. He grew up in a family of kolkhoz farmers. He joined the
CPSU in 1962.
Upon graduation from Tajikistan State University in 1956, where he
studied philology and history, Qano'atov contributed poems that he had
composed in the 1940s which had been published in local newspapers,
to the poetry section of Sadoi Sharq. Between 1961 and 1966, he was
appointed Chief Editor of the poetry section of Sadoi Sharq.
The mood and the tone of Qano'atov's poetic career is set by his first
collection, entitled Sharora (The Flame, 1960). The volume embodies a
thorough knowledge of the classical poetic traditions of the Perso-Tajik
peoples, the base on which Qano'atov draws to paint imagery at once
delightful and compelling.
Qano'atov came to the attention of Moscow critics and authorities
after the publication of two of his later volumes, entitled Surushi Stalin-

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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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