This famous Avar poet and native of a small Dagestan aul was proud of his nationality. Rasul Gamzatov had the opportunity to move to the capital of a large country, but preferred to live with his family in a small homeland. Relatives noted his sparkling sense of humor. Gamzatov's jokes were always kind.
From the biography of Rasul Gamzatov
Rasul Gamzatovich Gamzatov was born on September 8, 1923 in one of the villages of Dagestan. Rasul wrote his first poetic lines in childhood, when he saw a plane flying over the village. The child was overwhelmed with emotions, which he hastened to pour out on paper.
The boy's upbringing was initially carried out by his father Gamzat, the people's poet of Dagestan. He read his poems to his son, told tales and stories that awakened the mind and imagination of Rasul. Gamzatov published his first poems in local newspapers. He continued to publish later, having already become a student.
Rasul Gamzatov received a good pedagogical education, and then for some time worked as a teacher at the school, which now bears the name of his illustrious father.
Having gained pedagogical experience, Rasul entered the Literary Institute in the capital of the USSR in 1945. By this time, he already had several published books. While studying at the institute, Rasul discovered the bottomless world of Russian literature, which was reflected in his subsequent work.
Creativity of Rasul Gamzatov
In 1947, the Avar poet published his works in Russian for the first time. However, Rasul Gamzatovich never wrote his books in Russian: his stories and poems were translated by different authors. Some of Gamzatov's works received musical accompaniment. Firm "Melodia" has repeatedly published collections of songs based on the works of Rasul Gamzatovich. Raimond Pauls, Dmitry Kabalevsky, Yan Frenkel, Yuri Antonov, Alexandra Pakhmutova collaborated with the famous Avar poet. Songs to the poet's verses were performed by Muslim Magomayev, Joseph Kobzon, Anna German, Sofia Rotaru, Mark Bernes, Vakhtang Kikabidze.
For more than half a century, Rasul Gamzatov headed the organization of Dagestan writers. He has served on the editorial boards of a number of popular literary magazines. Gamzatov is also known as a translator: he translated the works of Pushkin, Nekrasov, Lermontov, Blok, Yesenin, and other classics of Russian literature into his native language.
Personal life of Rasul Gamzatov
Rasul Gamzatov was married. His wife was a fellow villager Patimat, who was eight years younger than the poet. All her life she worked as an art critic in one of the Dagestan museums. Rasul Gamzatov is the father of three daughters. He passionately dreamed of a son, but resigned himself to fate after the birth of his third daughter.
The poet passed away on November 3, 2003. He suffered from Parkinson's disease, but until the last day did not lose his optimism in life, although, according to his daughters, the poet had a presentiment that he would soon die. Rasul Gamzatovich outlived his wife by only three years. Thousands of his fellow countrymen came to say goodbye to the folk poet.
