Painter by Karimberdi Turamurod

Karimberdi is one of those rare voices I know as both active and courageous, an author who continues to write, speak, and organize literary life with remarkable energy. If you are in Samarkand today, please come and support him. I would be happy to share the location where he is holding a book fair and festive event.

Unfortunately, in Uzbekistan too, courageous authors often stand alone. Karimberdi is not only a writer, he is also his own fundraiser, promoter, and organizer. And what is truly remarkable is that he is succeeding in all of this. I do not know many other Uzbek authors like him.

Dear friends around the world, if you are organizing literary festivals, residencies, readings, or translation projects, I warmly encourage you to invite Uzbek writers like Karimberdi Turamurod. There are very few powerful, authentic voices here that deserve to be heard. I would be glad to support this journey as an interpreter and cultural bridge. At the same time, I strongly believe that our writers themselves should step onto the global stage, learn foreign languages, and represent their work internationally.

And today, on brother Karimberdi’s birthday, I wish him good health, long creative years, and continued strength, and I would like to share one of his poems in English translation:

Painter

My dear painter, wise companion of mine,

Do not refuse me, I beg you, be kind.

Portray my face as if all were fine,

And hide the deep grief I carry inside.

Let me be smiling while you paint me so,

Let all who see think I live without pain.

Let no one ever suspect or know

How long I have wept in sorrow and rain.

If you can, spare me the marks of despair,

Do not trace wrinkles across my brow.

Let no one witness the weight I bear,

Nor how sorrow has bent me low till now.

Paint me as one who has tasted love,

Let her who was lost be stunned by my sight.

Let her not know what I still dream of,

So fill my face with joy and light.

Do not draw hands worn rugged and rough,

Let them believe I have lived with grace.

Do not paint me full-length, enough,

Let not my foes see my fallen frame.

Painter, render me in such a way

That all who see me will smile and shine.

And when I leave this world one day,

Let friends remember this joyful design.

Please draw me like a happy man…