Bukeev, Shangerei

Born 1847; died 1920, in the district of Akbakai, Steppe aul (village). Kazakh poet. Born into a feudal-aristocratic family.

Bukeev graduated from a secondary school in Astrakhan. He served as a justice of the peace and received Russian dvorianstvo (nobility or gentry) rank. Bukeev was an adherent of the “art for art’s sake” theory. His love poems affirm the dignity of woman and celebrate woman’s beauty. His collection of verses called The Poet (1911) includes works of lyrical mood and philosophic meditation, and his works are notable for their grace of form. Bukeev translated M. Iu. Lermontov’s poem The Fugitive.