Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences

A scientific session titled “The Yashar Garayev Phenomenon in Azerbaijani Humanities,” dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the prominent literary scholar and critic, Honored Scientist, and Corresponding Member of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS) Yashar Garayev, was held at the Institute of Literature named after Nizami Ganjavi of ANAS.

The event began with participants visiting the Second Honorary Alley to pay respects at Yashar Garayev’s grave and honor his memory.

An exhibition showcasing Yashar Garayev’s scientific and creative work was displayed in the institute’s foyer.

The scientific session was opened by the President of ANAS and Director of the Institute of Literature, academician Isa Habibbeyli, who spoke about Garayev’s exceptional contributions to the development of Azerbaijani literary studies.

Academician Isa Habibbeyli emphasized that Corresponding Member Yashar Garayev was a distinguished scholar, renowned for his high intellectual qualities in Azerbaijani literary studies. He noted that Garayev had the ability to present even the finest details of literary criticism, theory, and literary history through his unique personality and imaginative thinking, simultaneously imbuing scientific thought with poetic value. The Academy president added that Garayev’s works are fundamental in nature, often addressing problems that could constitute the research focus of an entire institute or department.

The ANAS president highlighted that Garayev’s dissertation on “Tragedy and Hero” introduced a qualitatively new scientific approach and research direction in Azerbaijani literary studies. Subsequent studies have used the conceptual model developed by Garayev as a key methodological guide in scientifically interpreting the relationships between tragedy and heroism, contributing to defining the overall directions for the development of literary scholarship.

“Yashar Garayev systematically and profoundly analyzed the formation and development stages of Azerbaijani realism, its interaction with world literature, and the typological features of 19th–20th century realist prose,” Isa Habibbeyli stated, emphasizing that Garayev’s monograph “Stages of Azerbaijani Realism” holds a special place in the history of Azerbaijani literary scholarship as a fundamental, conceptual, and highly valuable research work dedicated to literary movements.

It was noted that Yashar Garayev was one of the rare scholars capable of speaking about literature in a poetic language, bringing poetry to his critical and theoretical thinking. His work “Azerbaijani Literature: 19th and 20th Centuries” stands out among classical literary history books due to its content and approach. In this work, a new scientific concept was formulated and substantiated regarding the phased classification and artistic typology of national literary development in Azerbaijan.

Academician Isa Habibbeyli stated that Yashar Garayev is recognized not only as a participant in Azerbaijani literary history but also as a prominent researcher who created his own scientific school and direction and developed a distinctive way of thinking.

The ANAS president drew attention to the special place that the study of Azerbaijan’s independence ideas held in Garayev’s multifaceted work, noting that after defending his dissertation on Romanticism, the theme of independence was central in each of his subsequent articles: “With his works in the second half of the 1980s, Yashar Garayev mobilized both the people and the forces of literary scholarship toward independence, contributing to the beginning of a new scientific and cultural struggle for independence in the history of Azerbaijani literary studies.”

Academician Isa Habibbeyli emphasized that the path, ideas, and scientific school established by Yashar Garayev remain highly significant for Azerbaijani literary scholarship and for the Humanities and Social Sciences sections of ANAS. He added that Garayev created a major scientific school, and his disciples continue these traditions and stylistic approaches, advancing Azerbaijani literary studies to higher levels.

He also noted Garayev’s exceptional contributions to directing literary scholarship from social motives toward reality and establishing solid scientific foundations in the field, expressing confidence that his name will remain forever in the history of literary scholarship.

Following this, presentations were made by: Doctor of Philology Vagif Yusifli, Head of the Department of Literary Criticism, on “Yashar Garayev on Literary Criticism”; Doctor of Philology Serkhan Khavari, Head of the Science and Education Department of the ANAS Presidium Office, on “Yashar Garayev: From Analytical Philological Approach to Philosophical-Cultural Concept”; Member of Parliament and Doctor of Philology Elnara Akimova on “Innovations Brought to Azerbaijani Humanities by Yashar Garayev.”

Additionally, reports were delivered by: Doctor of Philology Alizadeh Askerli on “The Evolution of Theoretical Aesthetic Thought Against the Background of Literary History and Theory”; Doctor of Philology Javanshir Yusifli on “Yashar Garayev: Transforming the Artistic Text into a Literary Scholarship Text”; PhD in Philology, Associate Professor Aygun Bagirli on “Yashar Garayev and Mathematical Literary Studies”; and PhD in Philology Aynura Mustafayeva on “Yashar Garayev on Drama.”

A video presentation on the life and creative work of the prominent scholar was also shown.

At the end of the event, Yalchin Garayev, speaking on behalf of the family, expressed gratitude to the organizers and participants for the respect and honor shown to his father’s memory.

Translation by Gulhane Aghayeva, Department of Public Relations, Press, and Information, Presidium of ANAS.

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