Dedicated to the 103 rd anniversary of Heydar Aliyev

The unforgettable impressions of our eternal national leader Heydar Aliyev about the valuable representative of modern Azerbaijani literature – contemporary poetess Leyla Aliyeva…

Today, we commemorate with unforgettable love, respect and pride our eternal National Leader Heydar Aliyev, who created miracles for our Azerbaijan, left sacred traces in the annals of our statehood, who is always proud of being Azerbaijani, who is a source of national pride and honor and is accepted as a symbol of Azerbaijan all over the world. Because, our eternal, national leader Heydar Aliyev always lives in the hearts of our people, he has not been forgotten, he is still remembered, and all the work he has done is often recalled. Our national leader Heydar Aliyev lives forever not only in the hearts of the Azerbaijani people, but also in the hearts of the peoples of the world.

Indeed, our eternally living national leader Heydar Aliyev, who was the most influential politician of Azerbaijan, as well as the world, always followed the comprehensive development and rise of our national-spiritual values, our literature, which enriches the spirituality of the people and makes it known all over the world, and considered it his most important task. He played an exceptional role in promoting the modern face of Azerbaijan, the rich values ​​of our people, and in gaining a worthy position for our country in the system of international relations.
Let us note that every nation is known for its national-spiritual values, ancestry, history, and culture. The fact that our eternally living national leader Heydar Aliyev, who was an irreplaceable genius leader of our people who opened new paths and new paths in the development of our culture, art, and the fact that he amazed the world with his rare pearls in the improvement of our modern literature and in the human arena, raised the glory of our country, and that our people have an ancient culture, as in all areas, confirms his wisdom. As is known, the rapid development, large-scale promotion, and great achievements of all spheres of Azerbaijani culture in the 20th century were directly the result of Heydar Aliyev’s exceptional historical services.

Speaking about contemporary Azerbaijani literature, modern writer Leyla Aliyeva, taking as an example her brilliant grandfather Heydar Aliyev, world-famous President Ilham Aliyev, who guided her in life like a bright beacon, and her mother, the First Lady of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva, who was distinguished by her charitable activities and selfless mission, has become a hardworking creative personality of the world. The presentation of the Orthodox Prize to the young poet, a worthy representative of our people, L. Aliyeva, shows that everyone is equal before God. The hardworking poet is very attentive and responsible in solving these issues, in her interaction with relevant organizations and institutions, addressing various instances. Today, while celebrating their services, we witness the high appreciation that our people give to their science, culture, homeland, religion, and nationality, which is precisely why we have turned to the creativity of Leyla Aliyeva, a talented representative of contemporary Azerbaijani literature. Academician Nizami Jafarov writes:
“The first blessing for Leyla Aliyeva’s poetic talent was given by her grandfather, the National Leader of the Azerbaijani people, Heydar Aliyev, at a prestigious (and extremely sincere!) family gathering attended by Azerbaijani writers, with the words “my grandson also writes poetry.” And these words of the patron of Azerbaijani literature, of course, did not escape the attention of the literary community, especially the critics who carefully followed the literary process – the literary mujahideen who voluntarily took on the mission of becoming the conscience of literature. Leyla khanum did not delay in justifying the hopes placed on her poetic talent. She presented beautiful artistic examples of sharing the secrets of her feelings, thoughts (destiny) with the world, like only the most sincere people in the world (“poets who came after the prophets!”). And she proved that her great grandfather was absolutely right in highly appreciating her creative talent.
As in all times, the most important themes of modern Azerbaijani literature, mother, homeland, love and victory, are always relevant. and is still very important today. This theme runs through the entire creative world of Leyla Aliyeva.

The creative talent of Leyla Aliyeva, a contemporary poetess of our modern literature, is comprehensive. She writes different poems such as “Don’t Go, Mother”, “You Are Not Alone”, “Give Me Strength”, “My God”, “Elegy”, “I Am Blind”, “My Poetry”, “People”, “Don’t Go”, “Lighthouses”, “Baku”, “Love and Hate”, “Swan”, “Soldier” and others. The fluttering of the soul in these poetic examples is a manifestation of the richness of her delicate inner world. She tries to find answers to the questions that excite a person in her poems, the depth of perception of a woman’s life collisions, their philosophical meaning, and penetrating lyricism fascinate the reader. The moments of turning Leyla Aliyeva’s inner world into the main subject of artistic research and mainly giving the plot of the soul, thought, and feeling, and perceiving symbols in a philosophical-psychological plan, the infinity of the abundance of information in all her poems, distinguish the young poetess from other masters of the pen.

The young poetess of contemporary literature, Leyla Aliyeva, reveals the realities of the world that are invisible to the ordinary eye in her work. The poem “Elegy”, dedicated to the dear memory of her grandfather, the national leader of the Azerbaijani people, Heydar Aliyev, has found its way into the hearts of millions of readers and aroused their deep interest. Indeed, fate has closely introduced us to the great leader Heydar Aliyev, who will always live in our hearts, an unforgettable person, the great son of the Turkic world, who dedicated his life to the peace and progress of the Azerbaijani people, and to turning our national identity into a source of pride and honor. The poem “Elegy”, dedicated to her grandfather Heydar Aliyev, by contemporary poetess Leyla Aliyeva, was published in the “Azerbaijan” newspaper on December 12, 2008, on the 5th anniversary of Heydar Aliyev’s death.
Contemporary poetess L. Aliyeva, being the successor of the charitable works of the famous family, has made valuable contributions to our literature with her contemporary poems. It takes hard work and time to involve our contemporary writers and poets in research and to convey their scientific creativity to the younger generation. Indeed, as stated in the poem “Elegy” dedicated to her grandfather Heydar Aliyev by Leyla Aliyeva, a young poetess of Azerbaijani literature:

If I were a bird flying to the stars,
the moon would light my paths.
If you were to return with your proud gait,
I would make you a place on Earth.
Listen to the whisper of my sorrow –

In these verses, the poet, who cannot bear the inexhaustible love for her grandfather and his absence, shares her sorrow and whisper with the Creator, wishing that her grandfather would return with his proud gait like a bird flying to the stars and that the moon would light her paths, because she cannot come to terms with this separation.

I know very well what separation is!..

I wish the winds could spread the cry of my heart to the universe.

Hearts keep breathing loudly,

 Every moment without you has its own sadness.

The author, who was deeply affected by the change in her grandfather’s world, expressed in this poem the fluttering of her tender heart burning with feelings of loneliness, separation, and longing, which touched the hearts of the readers. In the above lines, with the expressions – “I wish the winds could spread the cry of my heart to the universe”, the poetess’ soul, as if her heart, is screaming and raging.

Can the rushing rivers convey the memory of your sacred voice ?
Let us join the caravan of clouds again,
Let me travel the sky, let me see where you are,
Let me reach the heights, let me reach you.

-saying, the poetess’s fragile heart, fluttering like a bird in a cage, reaches the highest heights, rushes to travel the sky, to join the caravan of clouds. The young poetess appeals to the entire universe, calling on the earth, the sky, the sky, and nature for help, but the fire of her sorrow does not subside.

You were a mountain, I gave my shoulder to the mountains,
If the mountains suffer, the mountains will suffer.
My love for you is as great as the mountains,
Should I ask the mountains for your location?
Should I give it to the plane trees alone?

The poet, who has followed in her grandfather’s footsteps since childhood, expresses her unparalleled, boundless love for her grandson in the above lines, comparing her grandfather to an inaccessible, unfathomable, and gigantic mountain. In real life, when a person’s hopes are dashed, only he or she waits for the miracle of the great God.

I can’t create a miracle.
Disintegrate, oh darkness, retreat, oh night,
I want to join the sun!

We consider it our duty to talk about some of them, pay tribute to the memory of those people and introduce them to the younger generation, as appropriate, on the pages of this book of poems. Based on the above verses, the thoughts of the Great Samad Vurgun inevitably come to mind:

It has been like this since time immemorial, because the universe,

 The World is permanent, life is a trust.

Indeed, life is given to man as a trust, only for testing.

…The world is a window, everyone who comes looks, leaves…

There is a sense of regret in these words expressed with longing, deep meaning and fire. In the work of confirming memories in the literary world, strengthening our independence, increasing the welfare of our people, transforming Azerbaijan into a prosperous land and taking a more worthy place among the countries of the world, the granddaughter of a great personality, a young woman, continues his path with her will, and makes worthy contributions to our literature with her poems and continues this creative path.

In all the poetry of the modern-minded poetess L.Aliyeva, “mother, homeland, longing, woman, universe – existence, humanity, eternity, death, life, success, victory, defeat, eternity”… the path to God is sacred, based on Divine love, just as time leading to infinity has no end, so love and poetry, humanity never have an end.
Great leader Heydar Aliyev always keeps alive and will live with his far-sighted policy, the values ​​he gave to literature, culture, art, education, women, and mothers, our people always hold his dear memory high, remember him with gratitude, and celebrate and will celebrate the day he came to power again as the most important state holiday of the Republic of Azerbaijan – National Salvation Day. Because, independent Azerbaijan is eternal, the trust of our National Leader to the present and future generations, and his rich and diverse heritage is the national wealth of our people, and preserving this sacred heritage is the honorable duty of every Azerbaijani.

Deep within the rich emotional layer of Leyla Aliyeva’s poetic thinking, which is at first glance visually appealing, there are quite thought-provoking (and truly provocative) and highly productive considerations.

In general, Leyla Aliyeva’s creativity, her devotion to nature, flowers, land, homeland, the theme of mother, homeland, as a representative of Peace, always makes the contemporary poet think, and this theme, as if absorbed into all the author’s poems and based on humanity and supremacy, deserves special attention.
The young poet dedicated a poem to our servicemen and their children who were martyred in connection with the Armenian provocation that began on July 12, 2020 in the direction of Tovuz on the Azerbaijan-Armenia state border. The talented poet wrote this poem, wishing that the mothers’ lamentations and cries would not remain in vain, that the war would end soon, and that the enemy would receive a worthy response. (Leyla Aliyeva shared her poem on her Instagram account along with photos taken from the funeral of our martyrs, including their children. Kult.az)

Mothers, clutching their hearts in their hands, sigh,
saying, “Where is my son?”
After all, he was just a baby yesterday,
and he’s gone now! Ah! War!

In these verses, Leyla Aliyeva curses the war by describing the heartache, sighs, and suffering of a holy mother, describing the tragedy of her son, who was a baby yesterday and is a brave soldier today, who she raised with difficulty and could not come to terms with his absence. Expressing in the above lines that the blood of our brave soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the homeland will not remain on the ground, and that the enemy will receive a worthy response, the young poetess writes these verses, moved by the longing and longing of the baby boy looking for his father, who is looking for the road…

It won’t take long to silence the enemy.
A soldier will die for his homeland!
A single little boy will no longer wait

For his father’s arrival, burying his patience

If we say that the huge lines that L. Aliyeva broke from her fragile heart with great faith in the above verses indicate the extraordinary talent of the poetess, we would bring more reality to our thoughts. The timely use of the phrase “It will not take long to silence the enemy” finally led to the realization and confirmation of the news of the capture of Shusha (November 8, 2020) with the help of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, his family, and the heroic sons and daughters of our people, becoming the greatest successful achievement of Azerbaijan and Turkey.
It is a fact that this act, the sacred testament of the Great Leader, the main goal he set, the resolution of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict on the basis of the norms and principles of international law, and the mobilization of all the resources of our country, the potential of our people for the restoration of historical justice, his masterpiece, the strong Azerbaijani state, which is capable of protecting its sovereignty and independence, and proving by winning a glorious Victory in the 44-day Patriotic War, was successfully implemented by our world-famous President, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, a worthy successor of our eternal National Leader.
On this occasion, the wise, civil-minded young poetess Leyla Aliyeva dedicated the poem “Soldier” to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev on the occasion of the victory in the Patriotic War. “Qafqazinfo” reports that L. Aliyeva shared this poem on her personal Instagram account. We present an excerpt from the poem. Even though our topic is about women, revealing these facts is the most important factor for our dissertation as a novelty. Because our people, women, mothers, and human beings, have been waiting and longing for this successful news for more than 27 years. The 44-day war has ended. Our occupied lands have finally been liberated with the help of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, his family, and the heroic sons and daughters of our people.

The soldier is the peak of peaks,
His place is high!
He is the voice of conscience, the people,
He is the one who swears by the truth!
The soldier does not know what fear is,
He is a child of God,
His path is open to the world,
His fortress is in memories!

As can be seen from the above verses, the soldier, a child of God, whose path to the world is open and who is not afraid of any bullet, conquers high peaks in the path of justice, truth, and takes refuge in the voice of his conscience and people, and is always remembered.

As we noted in the poem “Soldier”, the heroes of Leyla Aliyeva, including the heroes of the outstanding representative of world literature, the brilliant English poet George Byron, are mainly selflessly thrown into battle. Some of the poems in the poetry of the talented personality, the young poetess L. Aliyeva form a unity with some of the poems of the famous English poet, a unique figure in the history of mankind, George Byron, who is considered one of the luminaries of world poetry. L.Aliyeva’s poetry provides enough opportunity to be drawn into comparison.

The presence of elements of Eastern artistic and aesthetic thought in the poems of the contemporary poetess Leyla Aliyeva is in a complete form and stirs the hearts of the readership. The whole soul of the contemporary poetess, who is deeply familiar with world literature through her rich activity and creativity – the mysterious worldview that is revealed to those belonging to this culture, shows her knowledge of the secret of the East-West worldview.

In conclusion, let us note that in the East, unlike the West, including in Azerbaijan, our most sacred national-spiritual family values ​​have been treated with respect and honor since ancient times, and this tradition continues to this day. Respect for the elderly, attention to the sick, and care for the young are always treated with great care as the most beautiful tradition passed down from generation to generation. The theme of mother, homeland, love, and victory, which is always relevant and of great importance in Azerbaijani literature, runs through the entire creative world of Leyla Aliyeva with a red line. In general, the poetry of the talented poetess stirs and moves the reader’s heart. In general, Leyla Aliyeva’s appeal to classical themes is confirmed by the logic of her development of our national poetry history. These ideas can be applied not only to one poem, but to all of Leyla Aliyeva’s poetry. In the poetry of the young poetess, the connection with both the English poetry of the romantic period and national artistic thought finds its clearer expression. Our scientific study of the unity of universal and national artistic thought in the poet’s work also stems from the integration of Azerbaijan and our modern youth into the world through culture, science, education, literature, and civil development. When approaching the world of poetry of the contemporary poetess Leyla Aliyeva, who captivates hearts with her poems, from the perspective of relying on literary-artistic, national-spiritual, philosophical-psychological sources, her poetic world is more unique than our modern poetry in terms of its theme and image system, and resonates with the literature of the romantic era. In her poems, she conveys to readers the evolution of the difficult and honorable path that brave, intelligent people have passed with great skill, beautiful, and psychological analysis. This once again confirms the young poetess’ commitment to modernity. In short, the name of Leyla Aliyeva is very dear to readers…

FERGANA ZULFUGAROVA,
Member of the Azerbaijan Writers’Union, Doctor of Philosophy in Philology, Associate Professor