The renowned Kyrgyz poet and playwright Altynay Temirova is presenting her poetry collection “Dancing Rain” in four languages—Spanish, English, Kyrgyz, and Russian—at the International Poetry Festival in Havana, the capital of Cuba.
The International Poetry Festival in Havana is taking place at the house of the world-famous poet Federico García Lorca. Participants include Altynay Temirova from Kyrgyzstan, Cao Cao from China, Biljana Milovanović from Serbia, Marian Eikelhof from the Netherlands, Paul Flores from Mexico, Marcelo Faggiano from Argentina, as well as poets from Brazil, Chile, France, Peru, Romania, Kenya, Colombia, Spain, and Cuba.
“On the first day, we met with students of the Faculty of Foreign Languages at the university and read poems to them. Their foreign language is Russian. Later, we also had a meeting with the Minister of Culture,” said Altynay Temirova.
“We are also planning to visit Ernest Hemingway’s house, God willing.”
The launch of the Kyrgyz poet’s multilingual book is scheduled for May 30.
Altynay Temirova is a versatile writer with a wide creative range—poet, playwright, and translator. She is not only well known among Kyrgyz readers but is also internationally recognized for her uniquely profound poetry. A true modern “polylingual” poet, she serves as the Kyrgyzstan coordinator for the World Poetry Movement, an international organization uniting poets and poetry researchers from all five continents.
She graduated in 1990 from the Maxim Gorky Literature Institute in Moscow. Since 1991, she has been a member of the National Writers’ Union. Since 2000, she has been a member of the International PEN Club, and since 2014, a member of the Kyrgyz Filmmakers’ Union.
Her first book, Burganak, was published in 1989 by the Literary Publishing House.
In 1993, her play The Light of Genius was published in Osh.
In 1999, her prose translation of The Queen of Spades by A.S. Pushkin, titled Lady of Copper, was published by the Soros Foundation.
In 2003, a bilingual (Kyrgyz–Russian) selected works collection titled Altynay was released.
In 2007, her play Broken Sky was published by the Kalemger Foundation.
In 2020, her poetry collection Moon Mountain was published in Russian in Moscow, funded by a grant from the International Writers’ Union and sponsored by philanthropist K. Tumanbayev. It was nominated for the international project-competition The London Prize Presents the Writer and reached the finals.
In 2022, she was invited as an “Honored Guest” to an international festival in Sakha-Yakutia and received the state award For Strengthening Peace and Friendship Among Nations.
In 2022, her poetry book Ich bin geflogen (I Have Flown) was published in Germany in German and received a Gold Diploma For Achievements in Literature.
In 2024, her prose collection Farewell, Dark Night was published under the “50 Books” project supported by the President of Kyrgyzstan.
In 2025, her poetry book Sonata for Love is being published in Turkish in Turkey by TÜRKSOY.
Also in 2025, her multilingual collection Dancing Rain is being released in Havana in Spanish, English, Kyrgyz, and Russian.
A distinctive feature of Altynay Temirova’s work—regardless of genre—is the deep philosophy, authenticity of national character, richness of imagery, clarity of historical context, vast thematic scope, timeless relevance, unique aesthetic, and original style.
Until the mid-1990s, her poems were translated into only a few languages—Russian, Altai, and Chinese-Kyrgyz (in Arabic script)—and appeared mainly in newspapers and journals. Since the 2000s, her works have been translated into Finnish, Sakha-Yakut, German, Kazakh, Uzbek, English, Bashkir, Turkish, Spanish, Hindi, Chinese, Norwegian, Belarusian, and others. They have been featured in print, separate books, almanacs, anthologies of these countries, and several major global anthologies.
She continues to represent Kyrgyz literature with distinction at international festivals, earning top honors and international awards. Temirova excels in multiple genres—poetry, drama, and translation—and consistently delivers high-quality literary contributions to the public. (KS)
