Ygylman Shorekov

Ygylman Shorekov (1876–1932)

Ygylman Shorekov was a broad-minded epic poet who lived at the crossroads of two centuries. The work that brought him wide recognition and secured him an honored place in the history of Kazakh literature was the poem “Isatay–Makhambet.”

This is a historical poem depicting the peasant uprising that shook the Bukey Horde in the 1830s. The poet appears to have carefully studied the details of the uprising, as well as the fate and background of his future literary heroes, over many years. Although he did not consult archival sources, he relied on oral narratives and legends preserved in the collective memory and passed down from generation to generation. Based on these, he wrote what is considered one of the finest works of Kazakh poetry — a single yet truly remarkable and famous poem.

Very little other literary heritage has survived from the poet. His works “About Poets,” “About Orators,” “About Heroes,” as well as several poems and reflections, were published in 1924 in Tashkent in the journal Saule (No. 41), and later included in the 1976 collection “Isatay–Makhambet.”

The first part of the poem “Isatay–Makhambet” was published during the poet’s lifetime in 1924 in Tashkent. It was later republished several times as a separate book and in the collection “Folk Poems” (1939).