Pairav

(pen name of Atadzhan Sulaimoni). Born Apr. 15, 1899, in Bukhara; died June 9, 1933. Soviet Tadzhik poet.

Pairav was educated in Bukhara and Merv (present-day Mary). In 1916 he entered the Kagan Russian Realschule, for which he was persecuted by religious fanatics. His first poem, written in 1920, glorified the revolution in Bukhara.

Influenced by V. V. Mayakovsky, Pairav intoduced Mayakovsky’s innovations into Soviet Tadzhik literature. In the second half of the 1920’s he wrote verse about the building of socialism, the liberation of women, and the struggle of nations against colonialism. His first collection of poetry, Flowers of Literature, appeared in 1931. Pairav’s topical, dynamic lyrics have great emotional power.