Revaz Margiani

Born Nov. 11 (24), 1916, in the village of Mulakhi, Svaneti, Georgia. Georgian Soviet poet. Member of the CPSU (1947).

Margiani graduated from the department of philology of Tbilisi University in 1940. He fought in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-45. In 1968, Margiani became editor in chief of the newspaper Literaturuli Sakartvelo (Literary Georgia); in 1973 he became editor in chief of the journal Drosha (Banner). His works have appeared in print since 1934.

In his early ballads and lyric poetry, Margiani made use of images from Svan folklore. During the war and afterward, the hero of Margiani’s lyrics became modern man, the patriotic, creative, and spiritually rich individual (the poems “To My Native Mountains,” “The High Mountains,” “Mulakhi—My Village,” “Elegy on the Death of a Friend”). He was awarded three orders.