Abai Kunanbaev (Abay Kunanbayev) - the great Kazakh poet, writer, national enlightener, scientist, musician, and statesman - was the founding father of modern written Kazakh literature.
The Kazakh nation takes pride in Abai’s creative legacy.
He authored about 170 pieces of poetry and a few epic poems inspired by and based on reinterpreted motifs from the Oriental literary classics. Abai is also renowned for his numerous translations of works by such masters of classical Russian literature as A. Pushkin, M. Lermontov, I. Krylov into the Kazakh language
Abai’s philosophical “Book of Words” (or “Words of Guidance”) - «Абайдың Қара сөздері» - has contributed immensely to the development of Kazakh artistic prose and social thought. The book is divided into 45 parts (“words”) addressing different topics in the form of protreptic arguments and parables. The main message in the “Book of Words” is the author’s belief in the triumph of humanist ideals and endless potential of the Kazakh people.
Music is part and parcel of Abai’s creative legacy. His outstanding talent for music revealed itself in his lyrical songs, which are still very much loved by the Kazakhs.
Modern Kazakh poets and writers keep Abai’s literary and aesthetic tradition alive further developing it in their works. Abai’s writings have been translated into many world languages, including Latvian. Towns and administrative centres, town squares and streets, theatres and libraries, and schools have been named after him. To honour Abai Kunanbaev’s memory, there has been established the State Award for Literature of the Republic of Kazakhstan.