A Day for Чыңгыз Айтматов

Today is day for celebrating Central Asian culture. I had real Uzbek plov for lunch, and Kazakh language classes like I have everyday, after which I had a chance to speak with some Turkmen and Uyghur teachers, and now I’m all set to review some of the work of Kyrgyzstan’s greatest literary figure since Manas, Chingiz Aitmatov. Mr. Aitmatov was nominated for the 2008 Nobel Prize in Literature by Turkey [as a writer in a Turkic language]. When he fell ill, he was at work on a movie set for The Day Lasts More Than a Hundred Years. He is buried next to his father in the Ata-Beyit cemetery he helped found for the victims of Stalinist oppression. It bears the same name as the cemetery in The Day Lasts More Than a Hundred Years. Perhaps the best way to celebrate a writer’s life is to appreciate the work he has left behind him.... [read full story]