LOVE HAS FOUND ITS REFLECTION IN MY HEART IN THE FACE OF COMPASSION
Today’s interlocutor is Nazila Gultaj — a well-known Azerbaijani poetess, investigative journalist, translator, and writer, who by profession is a doctor and a laureate of the Presidential Award.
1 — You are a poet, writer, translator, researcher, and also a doctor.
First of all, I would like to ask: Is it harder to find a cure for a person’s illness, or to heal their heart with words?
— That is an interesting question. A sick or suffering person’s soul is filled with pain and hopelessness. As the saying goes: there are words that can lift a mountain, and words that can bring it down. The most beautiful quality of a human being is the ability to heal sorrows with words. I have always tried to bring relief not only with the medicine I prescribe but also with words. The heart and the body are a single organism. If the specialist is knowledgeable, educated, and understands human psychology, then both tasks are easy. But if the specialist is weak, both are difficult—whether finding the right medicine or healing with words.
2 — When you create poetry, which emotion dominates you most—excitement, longing, love, or wonder?
— Certainly love. Without love, there is no wonder, no longing, no astonishment. Love is the source of all our feelings.
3 — You are loved both in the Azerbaijani and Turkish literary circles.
If we compare the spirit of readers from these two brotherly nations, what differences do you see in their approach to poetry?
— For many years, I have had close ties with the literary environment in brotherly Turkey. Just as in our country, there is also great interest in poetry and art there. That is a Turkish literary world, and this is too.
4 — In your book “Rain Drips from My Hands”, words seem to breathe with nature.
For you, is nature a source of inspiration, or does nature itself transform into poetry?
— The source of inspiration in art and creativity—whether it comes from a human being or from nature—is beauty. As our immortal poet Hüseyn Cavid once said: “My God is beauty, my God is love.”
5 — The theme of love is very strong in your poetry. Yet this love is not just the feeling between two hearts, but also love for homeland, for people, for nature, for humanity.
In what form does love most often manifest in your heart?
— Love arises from kinship and compassion. Yes, the concept of love, in my opinion, is a very broad notion. A person may even love a kitten that has lost its mother. In my heart, love takes the form of mercy and tenderness.
6 — Entering the literary field as a woman poet requires both delicacy and courage. In your view, what are the greatest challenges faced by female writers?
— Azerbaijan is a sufficiently tolerant country. Since ancient times, in Turkic tradition, the name of mother and woman has always been held in the highest regard. Women were deeply respected. Although certain religious influences in earlier times imposed restrictions on women, in the modern era, as we have returned to our Turkic roots, those restrictions have been lifted. In science, in culture, in literature, there are no obstacles for our women. The best example of this is our First Lady, Mekhriban Aliyeva. With her intellectual level, ability, manners, and style of dress, she is a role model for all women. These days mark her birthday, and I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate her on behalf of all the women of the Turkic world and to wish her success.
7 — In your works, you delicately touch upon the mysteries of the human heart.
Does being a doctor help you to understand the heart, or does writing poetry shed light on your medical practice?
— My being a poet greatly influences my being a doctor, and my being a doctor greatly influences my poetry. I cannot imagine one without the other. A doctor is the poet of the body, of the physical being; and a poet is the doctor of the soul, of the heart. In my life, each completes the other.
8 — In your poetry, images of rain, water, and flow often appear.
Is there a voice or a trace from your personal life within these images?
— I feel great joy when it rains. I am glad that all the trees, grass, flowers, animals, and birds, all those who suffer from thirst, can drink water. I can watch running streams for hours without getting tired. They soothe my feelings and my soul. Whatever is in my heart, I first confide it to the water. It is as if I write the words of my heart onto the water with my eyes. For me, water is a symbol of purity and cleansing.
9 — You have introduced the literature of many Turkic peoples to Azerbaijani readers.
— In 1990, when the borders opened, I turned toward the great Turkic world. I met poets in many cities of brotherly Turkey. My aim was to build a bridge of hearts between our peoples. I wanted to contribute to the development of our literary and cultural ties. I translated the books of many poets and writers, and they were published in Azerbaijan.
10 — In your opinion, are these bridges built only for literature, or do they serve a greater meaning that unites the spirit of nations?
— Within the framework of the “Journey of the Heart” project, I organized literary events. Together with my poet brother from Turkey, Coskun Karabulut, we held meetings not only in Turkey but also in other brotherly Turkic countries of Central Asia. We gained new friends. We poets and writers want peace and security in the world, and the absence of wars. We wish that no child is left without a father, no parent loses their child in wars. For this, we writers must unite. We must promote our culture and our literature.
11 — You presented your first prose book, “Father of a Martyr,” to readers.
Between prose and poetry, which do you feel closer to yourself—flying on the wings of feelings, or revealing the truths of life?
— My poetry draws strength from the prose of life, and my prose draws strength from the poetry of life. In the novella “Father of a Martyr” I relied on long, many years of life experience and real events. If it does not sound immodest, I see the success of this novella in its lifelike quality. Incidentally, this novella became the first winner of the Yusif Samadoghlu Prize in this genre in Azerbaijan. I am grateful to everyone who supported me in this work, especially to Asad Jakhangir, head of the Artistic Translation and Literary Relations Center of the Writers’ Union of Azerbaijan, the editor of this novella, who wrote a major article about the work and who was a moral support to me in my formation as a prose writer.
12 — You approach nature and animals with special affection.
Some say that one who does not love animals cannot love people.
What place does this affection hold in your life and creativity?
— Humanity begins with love for animals. A person who does not love animals cannot truly be a person; if such a person exists, then they lack a conscience. They are entrusted to us by nature, by the Almighty Creator. As higher-conscious beings, we must protect them, care for them. This is one of our most sacred duties as humans. For years they have been exploited, and they continue to be exploited. We use their milk, wool, meat. It is good that in modern times, compassion toward animals is increasing. In some countries, even slaughtering them has been banned. Personally, if I had the chance, I would wholeheartedly agree not to eat meat. Stray domestic animals I see in the streets always hurt my heart; I give food and water to those I encounter. I believe that people’s care for animals should increase, as it enriches human feelings and strengthens respect among people. For the salvation of humanity lies in love and compassion.
13 — For a poet, what is the greatest source of inspiration—divine love bestowed by God, the daily pains and joys of human beings, or the traces left by time?
— The world exists in unity. I am a doctor. When there is dysfunction in any organ of the human body, the pathology of one organ affects the others, disrupting their function, because the human being is a single organism. The world, too, is a macro-human. There is harmony among its parts. The main task of literature is to see this harmony, to call people to this harmony, because the harmony of the universe is reflected in man. Nothing exists entirely on its own. Where there is joy, there will also be pain; where there is love, there will also be longing and tears. All feelings are for spiritual balance. Emotions shape the human being. The soul and the body of man unite in the divine love bestowed by God.
14 — You have participated in many international literary festivals. In your view, does national spirit dominate world literature today, or is a global harmony felt more strongly?
— Yes, I have participated in many international literary festivals. World literature, too, is built upon national roots. Without national spirit, there is no globalization. Everyone must know their national identity, their ancestry. If a person does not know their culture, their history, their literature, they cannot advance toward globalization. Our flag has three colors: one represents nationality, one represents globality, and one represents our religious faith. We are heading toward the global world, but we take our national characteristics with us. A person without national characteristics becomes a foreign element, and that is a tragedy. It is like the tree with its roots, trunk, and fruit. If we compare globalization to the fruit of the tree, then nationality is its roots. Without drawing water from its roots, the tree cannot bear fruit. We are the trunk of the tree, the transmitters from generation to generation. Without national spirit, global harmony cannot be created.
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Jakhongir Nomozov, is a young poet and journalist from Uzbekistan. He is also a Member of the Union of Journalists of Azerbaijan and the World Young Turkic Writers Union.
