Authors

Discussion

     Akram Aylisli (Əkrəm Əylisli, 1937–), an Azerbaijani writer who has captured global attention in recent years, is an icon of disruptive thinking in Azerbaijani literature. While Aylisli was considered a defiant representative of the national awakening during the Soviet era, in recent years, he has been persecuted for opposing the prevailing anti-Armenian sentiment and nationalism in Azerbaijan through his novel Stone Dreams (2012).

     In both the Soviet and post-Soviet periods, Aylisli’s works have often been evaluated in the context of socio-political reality. This paper consequently aims to explore a dimension that previous discussions have yet to investigate—the dialogue between fictionality and reality in Aylisli’s works. With a focus on the imaginary and real “places” that Aylisli portrays, this paper will trace the development of Aylisli’s works from the formation of “Buzbulag,” the fictional village and common setting for many of his works, to the appearance of “Aylis,” the name of Aylisli’s home village, in his later works. 

     In light of different roles that Buzbulag, Aylis, and other fictional/real places play in Aylisli’s creation, this paper will explore the following questions: What literary effect is at work when Aylisli fashions a fictional place and when he refers to his hometown? What implications can be found in Buzbulag, an image presumably derived from Aylisli’s remote hometown in Nakhchivan and later recognized by readers as a synecdoche of traditional Azerbaijani villages? And how did Aylisli balance himself between politico-historical concerns and imagination? The importance of this study is that it foregrounds the fictional nature of Aylisli’s works, which is self-evident yet frequently overlooked— especially after the polemics over Stone Dreams.