News
"My poems find the way into the world on their own". The interview with Aigerim Tazhi
24.11.2023

Informburo portal published an interview with Aigerim Tazhi about poetry, the world, life, poet's work and feedom, sources of inspiration, the difference between readers in her country and abroad, her views on popularity, state support and "promotion" in poetry, how it all started, Musaget, translations, and much more.
"- Where do you get your inspiration from?
- I don't draw it from anything in particular, and I don't believe that for really creative people there is such an external source that you can go to and get inspiration if you are empty inside. Inspiration, or I more often call it creative energy, is born within me as part of my life. I observe the world, feel its processes, see what happens in it, think, wonder, live, breathe. And I write poetry...".
Read the full interview here
5Q Interview: Aigerim Tazhi, IWP Resident
20.09.2023

Each year, the Writing University conducts interviews with writers while they are in Iowa City participating in the International Writing Program's fall residency.
Today's talk with Aigerim Tazhi, a poet from Kazakhstan, is about her work, her process and her home.
Read the full interview here.
Today's talk with Aigerim Tazhi, a poet from Kazakhstan, is about her work, her process and her home.
"...What does your daily practice look like for your writing? Do you have a certain time when you write? Any specific routine?
– I don't have any specific writing routine for creating poems, because I write only when I feel I have something to say, when I really want to manifest something from my inner world outwards. That's why I have periods when I write a lot and periods of accumulating creative energy. I love travelling, and often the road inspires me to write poetry..."
– I don't have any specific writing routine for creating poems, because I write only when I feel I have something to say, when I really want to manifest something from my inner world outwards. That's why I have periods when I write a lot and periods of accumulating creative energy. I love travelling, and often the road inspires me to write poetry..."
Read the full interview here.
ICPL Presentation in a panel discussion at the Iowa City Public Library
30.07.2023

Aigerim Tazhi participated in a panel discussion on the theme "Nature on Edge"at the Iowa City Public Library.
Aigerim presented her essay in English, "Following the Breath of the Earth..."
"'This past spring, lying on a sand dune in the desert in the middle of the night and looking up at giant stars that seemed more tangible than the nearby village, I remember thinking about how no one really knows what our world is. What is nature itself? It is everything that exists in the universe. Absolutely everything! That being said, the word “everything” is not so easy to accept. The reason is that you cannot get to know the world by breaking it down into parts and structuring and labeling it. The world is infinite and can only be apprehended with the senses...".
You can read the full text of the essay in English here.
Aigerim presented her essay in English, "Following the Breath of the Earth..."
"'This past spring, lying on a sand dune in the desert in the middle of the night and looking up at giant stars that seemed more tangible than the nearby village, I remember thinking about how no one really knows what our world is. What is nature itself? It is everything that exists in the universe. Absolutely everything! That being said, the word “everything” is not so easy to accept. The reason is that you cannot get to know the world by breaking it down into parts and structuring and labeling it. The world is infinite and can only be apprehended with the senses...".
You can read the full text of the essay in English here.
IWP International Writing Program in the USA
30.07.2023

Aigerim Tazhi has been invited to participate in the Fall Residency of The International Writing Program (IWP), one of the most prestigious writing programs in the United States. The IWP Fall Residency will be hosted by the University of Iowa from August 19 to November 4, 2023.
The IWP residency has been hosting well-established writers from around the globe since 1967. During the residency, writers produce literary works, participate in various literary events, readings, get acquainted with the cultural life of the country, etc. IWP’s host institution, the University of Iowa, is the premier literary writing center in the country and also home to the world-renowned Iowa Writers’ Workshop. IWP alumni include authors such as Orhan Pamuk, Mo Yan, Victor Pelevin, and others.
This year's eleven-week program will feature poets and novelists, screenwriters and playwrights from around the world. Poet Aigerim Tazhi will represent Kazakhstan.
The IWP residency has been hosting well-established writers from around the globe since 1967. During the residency, writers produce literary works, participate in various literary events, readings, get acquainted with the cultural life of the country, etc. IWP’s host institution, the University of Iowa, is the premier literary writing center in the country and also home to the world-renowned Iowa Writers’ Workshop. IWP alumni include authors such as Orhan Pamuk, Mo Yan, Victor Pelevin, and others.
This year's eleven-week program will feature poets and novelists, screenwriters and playwrights from around the world. Poet Aigerim Tazhi will represent Kazakhstan.
Poems in "Copper Nickel" (USA)
21.10.2022

Poems of Aigerim Tazhi in English translation have appeared in the American literary journal Copper Nickel (Fall 2022, Issue 35).
Copper Nickel - the national literary journal housed at the University of Colorado Denver. Work published in Copper Nickel has appeared in the Best American Poetry, Best American Short Stories, Best Small Fictions, Pushcart Prize anthologies. Contributors to Copper Nickel have received numerous honors for their work, including the National Book Award; the National Book Critics Circle Award; the Pulitzer Prize; the Nobel Prize, etc.
The autumn issue of the journal includes also works of authors from the USA, Europe and Korea.
Copper Nickel - the national literary journal housed at the University of Colorado Denver. Work published in Copper Nickel has appeared in the Best American Poetry, Best American Short Stories, Best Small Fictions, Pushcart Prize anthologies. Contributors to Copper Nickel have received numerous honors for their work, including the National Book Award; the National Book Critics Circle Award; the Pulitzer Prize; the Nobel Prize, etc.
The autumn issue of the journal includes also works of authors from the USA, Europe and Korea.
Poetry International Festival in Rotterdam
06.06.2022

From June 10 to 12, 2022, the city of Rotterdam (Netherlands) will host the 52nd International Festival of Poetry, which will be attended by the Kazakhstani poet Aigerim Tazhi. It is the first time Kazakhstan will be represented at the festival.
Poetry International Festival has a long and proud tradition, hosting poets such as Pablo Neruda, Joseph Brodsky, Seamus Heaney, Octavio Paz, Allen Ginsberg and many other authors. The theme of this year's festival is "A body as/in/of poetry".
Aigerim Tazhi will read her poems on the LantarenVenster stage on June 11 and 12. The readings will be accompanied by translations into Dutch and English.
Poetry International Festival Rotterdam
Poetry International Festival has a long and proud tradition, hosting poets such as Pablo Neruda, Joseph Brodsky, Seamus Heaney, Octavio Paz, Allen Ginsberg and many other authors. The theme of this year's festival is "A body as/in/of poetry".
Aigerim Tazhi will read her poems on the LantarenVenster stage on June 11 and 12. The readings will be accompanied by translations into Dutch and English.
Poetry International Festival Rotterdam
Meeting with poet Aigerim Tazhi at NMSU (USA)
30.04.2021

Poetry readings and discussion about Aigerim Tazhi’s poetry will hosted at New Mexico State University (NMSU, USA).
Aigerim Tazhi will read her poems from the book "Бумажная кожа/Paper-Thin Skin," published by Zephyr Press (USA), and the newest poems. J.Kates (translator) will read Aigerim Tazhi's poems in English translations.
Video from the meeting
Aigerim Tazhi will read her poems from the book "Бумажная кожа/Paper-Thin Skin," published by Zephyr Press (USA), and the newest poems. J.Kates (translator) will read Aigerim Tazhi's poems in English translations.
Video from the meeting