Feldman, Walter. "Interpreting the Poetry of Mahktumquli." In Muslims in Central Asia: Expressions of Identity and Change, edited by Jo-Ann Gross, 167-189. Durham: Duke University Press, 1992.

In addition to being "the most significant figure in the creation of Turkmenian written literature," Mahktumquli is also a Muslim figure from Turkmenistan.  The following introduction, also from page 167, describes the chapter: "This brief chapter will attempt to demonstrate how the aesthetic choices of Mahktumquli made literary form into a strong symbol of the historical and the incipient national consciousness of the Turkmen people."

Sections: The Biography of Mahktumquli; Poetry of Mahktumquli

Comments: 4/16/10: Today I received the followoing message about Mahktumquli from one of my Uzbek friends: "I also remembered my high school literature classes where we memorized Mahtumquli's poetry. 
He is famous among the Uzbeks."


2/9/10: Mahktumquli's respect as a religious figure can be seen from this quote on page 169: "The tomb of Mahktumquli, today on the Iranian side of the border at Aq Tuqay, thirteen kilometers from Gorgan, is still the site of pilgrimages at which offerings, prayers, and Sufi dhikrs are presented by members of several ethnic groups of the region."  For an interesting account of a man who sold his only camel to obtain a copy of Mahktumquli's work, see "The Book" by Sarykhanov.

Descriptors: 1990s, chapter, F, literature, translation, Tsarist, Turkmenistan