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| Parvane Mammadli, Literary Scholar |
Parvane Mammadli does not consider it correct to evaluate all Turkish literary works created in Iranian Azerbaijan from a political perspective.
In an interview with Voice of America, the leading researcher at the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences assessed the literary creativity in Iranian Azerbaijan. In her opinion, compared to the Republic of Azerbaijan, the works of art created in the South show more diversity in terms of worldview and content.
"Some people, either intentionally or out of ignorance, bring the works of South Azerbaijani writers to the political level, whether necessary or not. They do not fully understand the issue. They think the struggle there is mainly about unification. But that is not the case. It is a beautiful wish and hope for the future. But how well do we know each other? Have we managed to come closer after such a long period? There are gaps. They need to be filled."
She adds, "A new generation has emerged in the South that assimilates various currents in literature. They know several languages, including their native language and, of course, the official language, Persian. There are also excellent translations of world literature in Persian. They read them. Their reading habits are strong. This is reflected in the writings of this new generation."
The researcher scholar positively evaluates the fact that the new generation thinks in Persian and writes in Turkish.
"The nice thing is that they read literature, absorb it, and the works they create are in Turkish. They try to write in Turkish. The famous intellectual Rza Behrani says, 'In the past, our intellectuals thought in Turkish and wrote in Persian. But now, especially this younger generation thinks in Persian and writes in Turkish.' This is a very good situation," says the literary scholar.
According to Parvane Mammadli, the diversity of content in works written in Iranian Azerbaijan is broader than in the Republic of Azerbaijan:
"One of the good features is the richness of content. In the North, beautiful language styles might be used. People receive formal education in our language... But in terms of content, in terms of worldview, it seems there is some monotony. But in the South, it is different."
The leading researcher at the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences also talked about her book The Anthology of South Azerbaijani Literature.
"Starting from the 1980s, the late Mirza Ibrahimov had prepared an anthology of South Azerbaijani literature. The book included most of the poets and writers from the South. But thirty years passed, and new anthologies were needed. I thought about it and worked for four to five years to create an anthology," she explains.
Mammadli adds, "Since the 1990s, the works of both young writers with new thinking and fresh breath, as well as older ones, have been included in the anthology. Naturally, these are very different from the previous generation. This becomes clear when reading the book."
Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Pərvanə Məmmədli: Güneydə yeni nəsil farsca oxuyur, türkcə yazır