Jafar Jabbarly
Encyclopedia
Xizi
Xizi was a book of I Ching written during the fifth century BC. Its origins are unknown, but it is suspected of being the product of scholars who did not believe prevailing Daoist thought. Among the mythologies stressed in the book is that of Fuxi, the emperor-god.Xizi is also a nickname for the...
– 31 December 1934, Baku
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
) was an Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
i playwright, poet, director and screenwriter.
Literature and theatre
After his father's death in 1902, Jabbarly's mother moved to BakuBaku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
with her four children. In 1915, Jabbarly graduated from high school and studied electromechanics
Electromechanics
In engineering, electromechanics combines the sciences of electromagnetism, of electrical engineering and mechanics. Mechanical engineering in this context refers to the larger discipline which includes chemical engineering, and other related disciplines. Electrical engineering in this context...
at Baku Polytechnicum
Baku Polytechnicum
Baku Polytechnicum is a defunct technical school that was established in 1887 in Baku, when it was under Russian rule. By 1910 it had integrated a curriculum related to the growing petroleum industry. However, the ratio of Azeris to non-Azeris was so skewed that of the 494 students studying at...
for the next 5 years. In 1920 he was admitted to Azerbaijan State University
Baku State University
Baku State University is a public university located in Baku, Azerbaijan. Established in 1919 by the Parliament of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the University started with faculties of history and philology; physics and mathematics; law and medicine with an initial enrollment of 1094...
to study applied medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
but due to his lack of interest soon switched to Oriental studies
Oriental studies
Oriental studies is the academic field of study that embraces Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology; in recent years the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Asian studies and Middle Eastern studies...
. In 1923, he started attending lectures at a local theatre to fulfill his interest in drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
.
Jafar Jabbarly started writing poems in his early teenage years and was reported to have had his first poems published in the Azeri newspaper Hagigat-i Afkar in 1911. In the following years, he wrote more than 20 plays, as well as poems, essays, short stories, and articles. His works were very much influenced by the 1920s propaganda of Communist glory and celebrated appropriate themes such as equality, labour, education, cosmopolitanism, emancipation of women, cultural shifts, etc. Jabbarly's major accomplishment in introducing Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an plays to average Azerbaijanis was translating William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
into Azeri in 1925 and directing it at the Azerbaijan Drama Theatre
Azerbaijan Drama Theatre
The Azerbaijan State Academic Drama Theatre is an academic theatre of drama in Baku, Azerbaijan.-History of the theatre:Origin of Azeri nation’s theatrical art relates to national holidays and dances. Elements of theatricality were contained in many kinds of national creativity accompanying...
a year later.
Film
Jafar Jabbarly is considered the founder of screenwriting in Azerbaijan. Two of his plays, Sevil and Almaz, were made into films in 1929 and 1936 respectively. Both focused on the theme of the role of women, their oppression, struggle, and ultimately, victory over dated patriarchal traditions.Jafar Jabbarly died at the age of 35 of heart failure and was buried at the Alley of Honor. The national film studio, Azerbaijanfilm
Azerbaijanfilm
Azerbaijanfilm is an Azerbaijani state film production company. It was established in 1920 as a photo-cinema department at Azerbaijan SSR People's Commissariat, and in 1923 renamed to "Azerbaijani Photo-Cinema Office"...
, a street and a subway station
Baku Metro
Baku Metro is a rapid transit system serving Baku the capital of Azerbaijan. First opened on November 6, 1967, during the time of the Soviet Union, it has the features found in most other ex-Soviet systems, including very deep central stations, and exquisite decorations that blend traditional...
in Baku are named after him.
External links
- Short Stories and Dramas by Jafar Jabbarly Online at Azeri.org