"The importance of this book cannot be underestimated, and I am so excited that the translation of these timeless poems and Baitursynov’s oeuvre is now available in English. It is such a huge milestone for the Central Asian intellectual landscape. Akhmet Baitursynov holds a special and historic position in the history of the whole region and is considered one of the founding fathers of Kazakhstan and Kazakh modern literature. Masa or Mosquito is a classic of Qazaq adebieti – Kazakh literature and a masterful genre-bending, linguistically exquisite, crucial work of its time that interprets and reads so well in contemporary contexts. Jake Zawlacki has done a great and careful job translating these works and sustaining the depth of the original Kazakh language that is often so hard to translate due to its unique visual foundation in which Baitursynov was a virtuoso researcher and writer, composer, and archivist of the language. The book will be of interest to wider audiences – both those who are familiar with Central Asian literature and those who know very little about the early twentieth century (pre-Soviet) developments in Kazakh poetry. It is a timeless masterpiece."

—Dr Diana T Kudaibergen, UCL SSEES, author of Rewriting the Nation in Modern Kazakh Literature

"Expertly and thoughtfully rendered, Zawlacki brings the poems of Ahkmet Baitursynov to life in English, wings and all. A worthy introduction to this fantastic Kazakh poet."

—Ariel Francisco, author of All the Places We Love Have Been Left in Ruins

“Nationalists think that if people only pay attention, they will develop political and ethnic consciousness. Poets describe this mindshift as “waking up,” a powerful idea still in our era of conflicts over “wokeness.” In this spirit, Thomas Davis called for the rise of Ireland in an 1846 line, “the West’s awake.” Nationalist poets used this same concept in the Russian empire, as in Judah Leib Gordon’s 1866 Hebrew poem, “Awake, My People!” The early-20th-century Kazakh poet, teacher, political activist, and alphabet reformer Akhmet Baitursynov, though, understood that most people would rather stay asleep, and thus he memorably compared his nationalist message, in a 1911 poem, to the irritating buzzing of a mosquito at night, preventing someone from sleeping. Jake Zawlacki’s lively translation of Baitursynov’s verse offers a compelling view into Kazakh history and culture for English readers even as it can help us learn about nationalism and literature in general.”

— Gabriela Safran, Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures and Eva Chernov Lokey Professor in Jewish Studies at Stanford University.

“At a time when Kazakh youth search for a renewed sense of national identity, Baitursynov’s Masa arrives at the perfect moment. Speaking directly to the reader with force and power, Jake Zawlacki’s translation of Mosquito lends a new voice to one of the most subversive, radical, and avante‑garde writers in Kazakh history.Today, this first ever English translation of Mosquito arrives at another pivotal moment in Kazakhstan’s history, one where today’s youth search for an identity beyond Russian influence. ”

— Fatima Moldashova, Kazakh language and culture expert

Akhmet Baitursynov (1872-1937) was a highly influential Kazakh writer, educator, poet, linguist, and leading member of the Kazakh nationalist group Alash Orda. Today, he is recognized  as one of the intellectual forefathers of modern Kazakhstan, and bears the honorific “The Educator.”

Jake Zawlacki is a writer, translator, and scholar. He is also a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer from Mongolia, a Fulbright Alumnus to the Kyrgyz Republic, and a graduate of Stanford University’s Russian, Eastern European and Eurasian Studies Program. He teaches writing at the University of San Diego.

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Translator’s Note

References

Mosquito

Author’s Note

A Writer’s Joy

To My Kin

From Zhadovskaya

Khozha Nasr’s Cunning

Invitation to Study

Năbek’s Horse

The Unlucky Peasant

Geese

The Ass and the Owl

Kazakhness

Kazakh Culture

Letter to a Friend

Pieces, Gathered

Letter to My Mother

My Prayer

Words of the Captive

A Farmer of Humanity

To the Blue Asses

To the City of Qa-------

To My People

To Calm

To Mrs. N. K.

To My Little Brother Poet

Letter From My Brother-in-Law, I. B.

Reply to a Letter

Science

From Nadson

Garden

Pushkin’s Voltaire

Horse

The Wise Alek and Death

The Fisherman and the Fish

The Golden Rooster

From Lermontov