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Sooronbay Jusuyev, who is Kyrgyz, was born in 1925 in the village of Kyzl-Jar. He served in World War II and then built a career as one of Kyrgyzstan’s most famous writers. He has published dozens of books and has translated Shakespeare’s Hamlet – among other works – into Kyrgyz. Dilbar Ruzadorova interviewed him in Bishkek on March 20, 2009.

I grew up with my mother and four sisters. We lived in Kyzyl-Jar, in the Kara-Kuljyn region of Osh oblast [province]. My parents worked on a collective farm. Nowadays, my younger sister – who lives in the village – and I, are still alive. My other three sisters have passed away.

My father was the first person in Kyzyl-Jar to bring up the idea of building a mosque, and he eventually did it. To go there, men and women had to cover their heads and women had to wear dresses. In those days, no one was put in jail for practicing Islam, but sometimes government officials were fired because of their religious views.

I am a Muslim, officially, but I consider myself an atheist. I was never a religious person, even though my father was very religious. I don’t pray and never have, but my father never missed namaz [prayer] or any other religious rituals. I’m not totally an atheist, I do believe God exists, but I don’t perform any religious rituals. As a family tradition, though, we all gather together on Ramadan. All my children visit me then.

I went to the local school in my village. I liked attending school, and always tried to devote most of my time to studying. We studied math, literature and so on. Literature was my favorite subject. I don’t remember if it was in my school or in my university, but I was a very active participant of in the literature and drama clubs.

I was sent to army when I was 18 years old. My father was no longer with us at that time; he had died when I was eight. Certainly, my mother and sisters had a hard time without a man around. [In the army, he was given an award for bravery on Nov. 14, 1944.]

From 1947 to 1949, I studied at the Osh State Teachers’ Institute, in the Kyrgyz Language and Literature Department. After graduation, from 1951 to 1956, I went to the M. Gorky Literature Institute in Moscow.

I remember when Stalin died. I was already back in Kyrgyzstan. Everybody was in a great pain, including me. I even started to smoke, but after two packs of cigarettes, I couldn’t handle it any more.

I was married twice. My first wife passed away because of bad health. I did not steal either of my wives. We already knew each other and we got married with a mutual agreement. I have three daughters and one son.

I moved to the city [Bishkek] in 1957, when Chingis Aitmatov and several other poets and artists, including me, were given these apartments [in the building where the interview took place]. These apartments are the only apartments in Kyrgyzstan that were set aside for artists. For entertainment, I like to read a lot. I like to stay home alone with my books and write new poems.

Kyrgyz food has not changed over my lifetime, but my eating habits have changed a lot because I’m diabetic. I am on a very strict diet. I have my breakfast at 8 a.m., following by tea with powdered milk at 11 a.m. Exactly at 1 p.m., I have lunch. Usually, I have only one dish for lunch: soup, most of the time. At 3 p.m. and at 5 p.m. I have the tea with milk again. Then I have dinner at 8 p.m. and, finally, yogurt before bed. For dinner, I usually eat meat, fish, lamb, or chicken.

For almost half a year, I’ve been on this diet, which includes a lot of dairy products. But I also like to eat pastas, soups, lagman, [1] and Uzbek shashlyk. [2] The only thing that I avoid buying is street food. I consider it unhealthy and unsanitary. You never know what kind of meat is used in it. Basically, I like everything my daughters cook for me. My family only eats out sometimes, during celebrations like weddings, birthdays, and family parties. And that’s the only time I drink alcohol – during big celebrations. Recently, I allowed myself to do it during the Nooruz [3] holiday.

My first language was Kyrgyz; my parents spoke Kyrgyz. I also speak Russian. Before the army, I couldn’t speak any Russian, but then I learned it and now I speak perfect Russian. I use both Russian and Kyrgyz at home and at work. My first poem was in Kyrgyz. I wrote it when I was in the army. Fifteen of my books are written in Russian. About 30 of my other books are in Kyrgyz. I’ve translated works by Pushkin, [Sergei] Yesenin, Shakespeare, Lermontov, Omar Khayyam and other famous writers into Kyrgyz.

When I was young, I rarely heard people speaking Kyrgyz to each other. However, when I go out to walk in the parks now, most of the people are speaking to each other Kyrgyz. In my opinion, Kyrgyz is being used much more widely now than it was in Soviet times.

[Jusuyev’s books in Russian include: V ozhdanii gostya, Orlitsa, Gorni zori, and Zhavoronok. His books in Kyrgyz include: Суйуу менен ишенич, Умут, Турмок булуттар. His first poem, Вперед Кыргызские Воины, was published in Советтик Кыргызстан. His poem Kanat and Zarina has been adapted for the stage and for film.]

[Jusuyev has won many awards for his writing, including: a “diploma” from the High Council of the Kyrgyz SSR (1966); a “diploma” from the High Council of Yakutia (1996); a “diploma” from the High Council of Ukraine (1974); the “Dank” medal for efforts in the development of culture and art in Kyrgyzstan (1997); the honor of “national poet of Kyrgyzstan” (1981); the honor of “honored person of the Kyrgyz Republic (1995); the Toktogul national prize (1998); and the Manas award granted by the president of the Kyrgyz Republic (2000). Also, schools in Say-Talaa, Kara-Luljin, Jarooz, and Kara-Suyskiy are named after him.]