About

Afag Masud

– People’s Writer, playwright, Honoured Art Worker;

– a full member of Peter’s Academy of Art and Science;

– a full member of European Academy of Sciences, Arts and Literature;

– member of the Georgian Writers Association;

– Board Chair of the Azerbaijan Translation Centre, and editor-in-chief of the “Khazar” World Literature Magazine.

Afag Masud was born on 3rd June 1957 into an intellectual family in Baku. She graduated in Journalism from Baku State University in 1979. Worked as an editor and editorial board member for Azerbaijanfilm Studio (1979-1986), and Director of “Azerbaijantelefilm” Studio (1986-1988). In 1989-2014, her positions included: Chair of the Republican Centre of Translation and Literary Relations, and editor-in-chief of the “Khazar” World Literature Magazine.

She was appointed Director of the Translation Centre under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Azerbaijan Republic by Decree #501 of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev dated 16th May 2014, and Board Chair of the Azerbaijan State Translation Centre by the Presidential Order #110 dated 18th May 2018.

She is the author of novels, plays, essays and short stories.

Her works, interviews and articles have been issued in publishing houses and media in many countries, and published on cultural and literary portals.

She is the author of such plays, as “At Death’s Door”, “He Loves Me”, “Getting to Leave”, “Woman under a Train”, “Karbala”, and “Mansur Al-Hallaj.”

The plays “At Death’s Door”, “He Loves Me” have been staged in the State "Yug" Theatre (Theatre Director – Vagif Ibrahimoghlu), and the play “Woman under a Train” has been staged in the Academic National Drama Theatre (Theatre Director –Mehriban Alakbarzade.)

Her works “The Sparrows” (Television Director – Eyvaz Valiyev), “The Party” (Television Director – Tariyel Valiyev) have been made into television dramas, and “Night” (Film Director – Teymur Guliyev), “Punishment” (Film Director – Mehriban Alakbarzade), and “The Death of the Rabbit” (Film Director – L. Najafzade) - into television movies.

She has translated into Azerbaijani a number of foreign works, such as the novels “Autumn of the Patriarch” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, “The Web and the Rock” by Thomas Wolfe, tazkira books by Muhammad Nasifi, Abu Hamid al-Ghazālī, Ibn Arabi, and Jalal ad-Din Rumi. The reading and discussion of the novel “Procession” in German were held at the Berlin Literary House in 1994;

In 2000, a doctoral dissertation from the University of Vienna on her literary creativity was  defended (Sena Dogan “Female Writers in European Oriental Studies”);

In 2004, the radio play “Die Sperlinge” (“The Sparrows”), based on the motives of the same story, was broadcast on Vienna radio.

 

Novels

·       The Curse

·       Reincarnation

·       Fatma

·       The Funeral

·       Towards the Light

·       The Seal

·       Procession

·       Freedom

·       John Paul II

 

Short Stories

·       Saturday Night

·       The Storm

·       The Patron

·       The Dormitory

·       Mirage

·       The Slacker

·       Madad

·       The Parrot

·       Murdered

·       The Sparrows

·       Alone

·       The Crash

·       The Swan

·       The Death of the Rabbit

·       The President

·       She

·       The Night

·       The General’s Death

·       S.V.A.C.O.

·       The German Church

·       A Man of Genius

·       Inspector Weissman

·       At Death’s Door

·       Aysun

 

Plays

·       At Death’s Door

·       Actress

·       He Loves Me...

·       Woman Under a Train

·       Karbala

·       Mansur Hallaj

 

Articles

·      The Historical Mission

·      To Be Nizami

·      A Man of Literature

·      Literature and Men of Literature

·      Poet - Clean Like a Whistle.

·      The Phenomena of This World

·      A Transparent Theatre, or on the Other Side of a Big Secret

·     “Where Does the Motherland Begin From?... From the First Letter of ABC…»

·      Our Orphanlike Language, or Continuation of a “Frightful Alphabet”...

 

Essays

·       A Little Boy

·       Vagif Whose Birthday is Unknown

·       The Poet Who Has Painted His Own Portrait

·       The Upright Scientist

·       Without the Teacher

·       Under the Light of Grief

·       Where Are You Heading, Brother?.. – To the Final Resting Place, Sister...

·       Ilyas Afandiyev

·       Letters to Natig Safarov

·       The Lonely Violinist of an Empty Stage

·       At the Wisdom of Great Boredom

·       Atabey

·       Your Grief Is Our Grief, Türkiye!

·       Dear Ukraine!

·       Good Day, Soldier…

·       Above the Clouds

 

Translations

·       Thomas Wolfe. The Web and the Rock        

·       Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Autumn of the Patriarch.

·       The Path of Salvation

·       Sigmund Freud. Life and Death (Lecture)

·       The Elixir of Happiness

·       Ibn Arabi. Advice for Seekers of God

·       Al-Ghazali. Hadith ul Quds

·       Nasafi. Zubdat ul-hHkayik"

·       Al-Ghazali. Dear Beloved Son

·       Anton Chekhov. Black Monk

 

Movies, TV plays

·       The Party

·       The Sparrows

·       The Punishment 

·       The Night

·       The Death of the Rabbit 

Theatrical performances

·       He Loves Me...

·       At Death’s Door

·       Woman Under a Train 

 

Prizes and awards

– Azerbaijani National Prize “Humay”
– has been awarded the honorary title “Honoured Art Worker” by Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev;
– has been awarded the TURKSOY Medal of Makhtumkulu Firaki;
– is the winner of the International Stage Play Contest held in Türkiye;
– has been awarded the "Brücke" ("Bridge") Honorary diploma of the German-Azerbaijani society;
– has been awarded the Shohrat Order by Decree of the President of the Azerbaijan Republic Ilham Aliyev;
– Laurate of Haldun Taner medal;
– has been awarded the honorary diploma “Cultural Ambassador” of Georgia;
– has been awarded the jubilee medal “100th Anniversary of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic”;
– has been awarded the title of People’s Writer by Decree of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev;
– has been awarded the Prize Akakia Tsereteli of the Georgian Writers Union;
– has been awarded the honorary diploma of the Writers House of Georgia and  Ajaria;
– has been awarded the commemorative-badge "880th anniversary of Nizami Ganjavi";
– has been awarded the Ivane Machabeli Prize of the Georgian Writers Union;
– has been awarded the title of “Honoured Worker of Culture” of the Rustaveli Society of Intellectuals;
– has been awarded the Mikheil Javakhishvili Prize of Rustaveli Society of Georgia;
– has been awarded the Georgi Leonidze Gold Medal, Georgia;