An interview with Natik Rasulzade, one of the most popular poets not only in Azerbaijan, but in the whole of Europe.
- Did you decide to take a rest this hot summer or are you currently working on some project?
- I do not divide creative work by seasons. I create and this is what matters. No doubt, summer is the time for recreation, but this is not about me. My work follows me even on trips. These days are the hottest in Baku, yet I have to complete one work, written in prose.
Moreover I have several projects with the Ministry for Culture and Tourism, in particular, a play.
- How do you relax?
- I really adore active rest. If I have some free time, I do sports. I'm an active person; I love the mountains and the sea. Surely our body needs rest, as well as our mind. Unfortunately I do not always manage to do it, as I always have some new ideas. Even when I want to give up all my doings, new ideas arise and I find myself behind the table writing. Thus I can't really plan my rest.
- Recently you've been to Moscow. What was the purpose of your visit?
- We were in Moscow to participate in the Days in Memory program of the famous Azerbaijani poet - Rasul Rzi, and the festivities were carried out at the highest level. A huge hall in the Central Poetry House was filled with lovers of his poetry. The official part was perfectly staged down to the performance of Russian students, who recited poems in perfect zerbaijani, and this was a pleasure for us.
A very interesting performance was staged by our famous Azerbaijani artists Fahreddin Manafov and Mehribyan Zyaki.
- What the difference between the Moscow of today and the Moscow of your student years?
- The same as the difference between then and current Baku.
Today Moscow is a megalopolis. I studied there from 1970 until 1975. My favourite tiny by streets are still unchanged though. I visit this wonderful city once a year and in fact Moscow has been changing before my eyes. We shouldn't expect any city even the oldest one to remain the same as it was before. Several years ago the highest house in Baku had not more than 5 floors, nowadays a 30-floor building doesn't even impress. Big cities should meet the demands of their citizens.
- How has society changed - the society of today's Azerbaijan?
- We have switched from one social-political formation to another. People think in a different way. We've been living in a
malformed society for long time. I've been writing about this and was condemned for the truth. I wrote about prostitution and drugs in our country in the 1960s and 1970s, but this was the truth the government tried to hide. Now we have freedom of expression and democracy.
Azerbaijan is an independent state. The most important change is the one which has happened in people's minds.
Interviewed by Ramin Naziev, Baku. Exclusively for VK.
