On 14 June, in the round hall of the Ankara-based TÜRKSOY office - the International Organization of Turkic Culture hosted a presentation of the two-volume book "An Anthology of Modern Azerbaijan Literature". The event was attended by Dr. Yagub Omeroglu, Chairman of the Society of Writers of Eurasia, Secretariat-General of TURKSOY Dusen Kaseinov, representatives of the Turkish Authors' Association, the Center of Turkey-Azerbaijani Culture,  Kütüphaneler ve Yayımlar Genel Müdürlüyü, as well as famous Turkic poets and writers, culture and science figures.

The Chairman of the Society of Writers of Eurasia, Dr. Yagub Omeroglu, opened the ceremony. Addressing the event, Dr. Yagub Omeroglu stressed the importance of the book: “Azerbaijan Translation Centre (ATC) carries out valuable and difficult work in popularizing Azerbaijan literature on an international scale. We are here to present to you the first two-volume book of Azerbaijan prose and poetry in the Turkish language. There is a great need in such an edition in Turkey. At Turkish universities and among the keen readers there was always great interest and love to Azerbaijani literature. And today Azerbaijani literature is taught and researched at universities, educational and scientific institutions of our country. The importance of this publication is to present a comprehensive picture of modern Azerbaijani literary process and the possibility of a close acquaintance of the Turkish reader with it.”

Then the floor was given to Yagub Omeroglu. He spoke about the importance of the anthology for literature, culture and education of the both countries, noting the role of such publications in bringing countries and peoples together.

AzTC's Director Afag Masud addressed the ceremony. “The book that is presented today to the Turkish reader reflects only a part of Azerbaijani literature, namely contemporary literature. The book includes works by Azerbaijani writers and poets from the 20th century. This is the first book available to Turkish readers in this format. AzTC is working on a voluminous book - a three-volume 'Anthology of Azerbaijani literature” covering the best literary examples from classics until 2000s. There is a great need in such publications and these editions are the first ones in Azerbaijan as well; they are an invaluable contribution to its science, education, culture, history. These publications could be titled as a map of Azerbaijan literature, its review, to be more precise, its identity card.”

Later on A. Masud talked about the successful translation of the anthology. “In autumn we are planning to present the anthology in the Arabic language in Kairo, Egypt and in Belarussian in Minsk. Thanks to the head of State Ilham Aliyev, who used the best endeavours to promote the progress in all areas in Azerbaijan including literature, culture, our Center subsequently implements significant projects to promote Azerbaijani literature around the world.”

Later on Osman Cheviksoy, a writer, Aysun Demirez Guneri, Jamile Kinaji, literary scholars, Gamar Alkhanova and Kamala Alakparova shared their thoughts on the importance of the current edition for the Turkish reader and spoke about some of the works included in the anthology.

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