The greatest of the great
Alisher Navoi (1441-1501) is undoubtedly one of the greatest Uzbek writers, we could even say that he is the great poet of Uzbekistan. Both poet and philosopher, he became a vizier and emir. It is possible to discover from him Leïli and Medjnoun as well as the collection Gazhels uzbèques. He was also a patron of artists and poets. In Uzbekistan, his name can be found on the names of streets, schools and universities. But beware, it was only under the USSR that the poet became an Uzbek. Rediscovered in the 1930s by historians, this author born in Herat (now in Afghanistan) was crowned Uzbek poet. But what is very interesting to know is that he himself did not consider himself an Uzbek, and even worse, he did not really love this people. This is in fact the meaning of the word "Uzbek" that has evolved over the centuries. In any case, Alisher Navoi became a symbol of this culture. After all, that's what counts!
The chroniclers of the court of the Khans of Khiva
It would be impossible to evoke Uzbek literature without mentioning the men of letters who were official chroniclers at the court. Let us quote for example Mounis Khorezmi, poet of the court of the Khiva khans. He delivered a collection of poetry(dîwân) Mounis oul-Ouchchok and the historical chronicle Firdaous oul-iqbal. His nephew, Mohammed Rea Agakhi (1809-1974), was also a court chronicler. He is credited with The Gardens of Prosperity (Riyaz oud-davla), which evokes the reign of Alla Kouli Khan and the period from 1825 to 1842, and the Abridged Annals (Zoubdat out-tavarih) for the period from 1843 to 1846; Recueil des faits des sultans (Djami oul-vakiati sultani) which relates the history of the Khorezm from 1846 to 1855; Le Parterre du bonheur (Goulchani davlat ) for the period from 1855 to 1865, and Le Témoin du bonheur (Châhid oul-iqbal) for the period from 1865 to 1872. In addition, the poet shows great eloquence concerning human feelings in his poetic work Le Talisman des amoureux (The Lovers' Talisman).
Vika Osadtchenko
This author, born in 1980, is one of the new Uzbek feathers that claim their Russian language. Having studied journalism, Vika Osadchenko also participated very quickly in poetry festivals. Since 2006, she has been a member of the Writers' Union of Uzbekistan and since 2017 has also been part of a writers' collective. She has also joined the Litera theatre project, an experimental project bringing together poets, authors and actors. She has written collections of poetry as well as prose. Her favourite themes include the relationship between humans and animals. Read, for example, the short story La Domestication.
