From the Publisher
“What we call now ‘Uzbek literature’ is one of the branches of great Turkic epic literature, which gave to the world poems like ‘Dede Korkut,’ ‘Manas,’ ‘Alpomysh,’ and many others. It particularly blossomed when cross-pollinated with other cultures and literatures. The first great epoch came with Alisher Navoi, who imbued it with treasures of Arabian-Persian literature. The second great revolution is found in the work of Abdulhamid Cho’lpon. In the beginning of the 20th century he amalgamated Uzbek poetry and prose with Russian and world literature. Cho’lpon is truly an innovative modernist writer and poet, who liberated Uzbek literature from centuries-long classical canons. Christopher Fort’s translation of his only novel brings Cho’lpon back to world literature.” —Hamid Ismailov, author of The Devils’ Dance
“Cho’lpon is a foundational figure of modern Uzbek culture and one of the creators of the modern Uzbek language. Night, his major prose work, was banned almost immediately after publication and was out of print for fifty years. Christopher Fort has done us all a tremendous favor by making it available in English. Thanks to his fluent translation, the English-reading public has for the first time direct access to the world of Turkestan under Russian rule. A great achievement.” —Adeeb Khalid, Carleton College
