Asqad Muхtor

The notable poet and prose writer Asqad Muxtor was born on December 23, 1920, in the city of Fergana into a family of a blacksmith. Orphaned at the age of 11, he was raised in an orphanage. After finishing school, Asqad Muxtor entered the Central Asian State University (1938). Later, he worked as the head of the "Uzbek Literature" department at the Andijan Pedagogical Institute.

Asqad Muxtor's arrival in Tashkent marked a new chapter in his career. He worked as a department head and executive secretary at various republican newspapers, as editor-in-chief of the "Sharq Yulduzi" magazine (1960—1965), and as a secretary of the Writers' Union of Uzbekistan (1957). He also edited the "Guliston" magazine and the "O’zbekiston Adabiyoti va San’ati" weekly.
Asqad Muxtor sought to define the purpose and tasks of poetry and the poet's duty to society in his early poems (1935—1938), such as "Tilak", "Tong Edi", and "Totli Damlar". He viewed poetry as something that provides "wings to the soul" and "a cure for pain". With the outbreak of the Second World War, the poet created a series of poetic works such as "G’alaba Ishonchi", "Jangchining Bayram Kechasi", "Tug’ishganlar Qaytdi", and "Sog’inish", urging the people to fight against the fascist invaders. He wrote the poetry collections "Po’lat Quyuvchi" (1947), "Hamshaharlarim" (1949), "Rahmat, Mehribonim" (1954), and "Chin Yurakdan" (1965), which depict the beauty and inexhaustible wealth of the Motherland and the major changes in the lives of the people.
The writer's novellas, such as "Daryolar Tutashgan Joyda" (1950), "Qoraqalpoq Qissasi" (1958), and "Buxoroning Jin Ko’chalari", as well as his novels "Opa-Singillar" (1955), "Tug’ilish" (1963), "Davr Mening Taqdirimda" (1964), "Chinor" (1973), and "Amu", express the important problems of our time. The poetry book "Chin Yurakdan" (1956) and the short story collections "Hayotga Chaqiriq" (1956) and "Dunyo Bolalari" (1962) enriched the treasury of Uzbek children's literature.
Asqad Muxtor also wrote plays such as "Mardlik Cho’qqisi" (1948), "Yaxshilikka Yaxshilik" (1949), and "Samandar".
Works by Sophocles, R. Tagore, A. S. Pushkin, M. Yu. Lermontov, V. V. Mayakovsky, M. Gorky, T. Shevchenko, A. Blok, and A. Korneichuk became part of the spiritual property of Uzbek readers through the translations of Asqad Muxtor.
As a lyrical poet, prominent writer, and skilled translator who made a great contribution to the development of Uzbek culture, Asqad Muxtor was awarded the title of "People's Writer of Uzbekistan" and the Hamza State Prize of the Republic.

Asqad Muxtor passed away on April 17, 1997.