My Dagestan

"My Dagestan" consists of two parts. The first part was written and published as a complete book in 1967, and the second part of the book was finished in September 1970. The first part was published in Russian in the 14th issue of the Roman-Gazeta magazine in 1968, translated by Vladimir Soloukhin, and gathered a lot of interest among critics and readers. "My Dagestan" became the first prose work of Rasul Gamzatov, previously he had only published poetic works. ==Contents==

In terms of content and format, "My Dagestan" is original and distinctive. The work is written in prose but with poetic inserts in between. Poetry is also present in the book, not only in poetic fragments, but also in prose text. Rasul Gamzatov's style is distinguished by its vivid imagery and expressiveness. Rasul Gamzatov constantly makes references to folklore, proverbs, sayings, legends, and parables in the text. The first part consists of chapters with the following titles: • "Instead of a preface. About prefaces in general" • "How did this book come about and where was it written?" • "About the meaning of this book and its name" • "About the form of this book and how to write it" • "Language" • "Theme" • "Genre" • "Style" • "Building of this book" • "Plot" • "Talent" • "Work” • "Truth. Bravery" • "Doubt" The second book discusses more about the author's feelings for his homeland, the people of Dagestan, moral issues, and the history of Dagestan. The second part chapters with the following titles: • "Father and Mother. Fire and Water" • "Home" • "Three Treasures of Dagestan" • "Human" • "People" • "Voice" • "Song" • "Book” == Narrative technique ==

A special characteristic of My Dagestan is the use of Persona poetry, specifically, through the lyrical subject. The protagonist is a mask of Rasul Gamzatov himself, possessing both the features of the author himself, but also some constructed characteristics. The author does not hide his mood from readers. The mood changes throughout the book and the reader is made aware of it. Writer and critic K. I. Abukov calls My Dagestan "a prose of changeable moods." Some fragments of My Dagestan are full of humor, satire, and irony; in other chapters there is evident sadness and bitterness; and in between, individual fragments are written with a cheerful and optimistic intonation. ==Genre==

Researchers do not have a consensus regarding the genre affiliation of My Dagestan. The presence of various microgenres in the structure, such as story, short story, critical note, review, sketch-memory, fairy-tale, anecdote, parable and others have also been noted. On his own book, Rasul Gamzatov said: {{Blockquote ==Reception==

In total, “My Dagestan” went through 50 editions in mass circulation and was translated into 39 languages in Gamzatov's lifetime. Grigol Abashidze, Savva Dangulov, and Semyon Babayevsky. Chinghiz Aitmatov wrote: “...Gamzatov's creation is unlike anything I’ve ever read. From the point of view of the genre, perhaps, it has nothing similar to itself in world literature.” Several other literary scholars have also published analysis on the book. ==Translations==

The book was first translated into Russian for the first time by Vladimir Soloukhin. Following the Russian translation, the book has been translated into several languages such as Bulgarian, English, French, German, Hindi, Hungarian, Italian, Korean, Persian, Polish, Punjabi, Spanish, Turkish, Vietnamese, Sinhalese and other languages. "My Dagestan" is the most famous of Gamzatov's 31 books that have been translated into foreign languages. Some notable translations include: • Russian translation by Vladimir Soloukhin in 1967 • English translation in 1970 by Julius Katzer and Dorian Rottenberg • Hindi translation by Madan Lal Madhu • Sinhala translation by Mahinda Senarath Gamage • Pashto translation by Fazlur Rehman Zahid and Aziz Khan Malizai • Punjabi translation by Gurbax Singh Frank • Urdu translation by Ajmal Ajmali • Vietnamese translation by Phan Hong Giang and Bang Viet ==References==