Azerbaijan Cultural Center in Vienna marks anniversary of eminent writer

Azerbaijan Cultural Center in Vienna has celebrated the 120th anniversary of the birth of Muhammad Asad bay (Kurban Said or Lev Nussimbaum), a writer, who occupies a special place in Azerbaijani literature.

The head of the Azerbaijan Cultural Center, Leyla Gasimova, opened the event with an introductory speech and spoke about the significance of the writer's literary heritage and the great interest in his work.

Despite the disagreements and extensive discussions in literary circles regarding the personality of Muhammad Asad bay, who lived a difficult life, and the authorship of his most famous work, the novel "Ali and Nino", it is in this work that the reader gets the opportunity to become more familiar with the events that took place in Azerbaijan at the beginning of the last century, national-ethnic relations and, above all, the tolerant environment.

In her speech, the director of the Vienna Jewish Museum Barbara Staudinger noted that the capital of Austria has a rich Jewish history, emphasized that this community contributed to the development of cultural life, and that another creative personality in the person of Muhammad Asad Bay, who lived in Vienna for several years and wrote his most famous works in this city, enriched world culture.

Yagut Abdalla, who defended her dissertation at the University of Vienna on the topic of "Modern Europe or Lagging Asia. East and West in the Works of Muhammad Asad Bay", in her speech spoke about the most important stages in the life of the once famous and then forgotten author.

In her report, Yagut Abdalla focused on the Viennese period of Muhammad Asad Bay's work (1933-1938), his social circle and acquaintances there, especially his literary connections with the Austrian writer Annemarie Selinko, and also analyzed the relationship between the novel "Ali and Nino" and one of her works.

Sebastian Januszewski, an employee of the Berlin House of Literature and a researcher of the legacy of Muhammad Asad Bay, spoke about the Berlin period of the writer's work (1921-1933), which spanned more than ten years.

The report, entitled "Asad Bay in Berlin - the City Where Lev Nussimbaum Became a Writer", presented information about the writer's writing activities in Germany, as well as his numerous articles in the prestigious magazine "Literary World", his participation in the "Attic" club of artists who emigrated from Russia, and his membership in the poets' club.

The owner of the Hans-Jurgen Maurer Publishing House operating in Germany, Hans-Jurgen Maurer, spoke in his report about the last years of the life of Muhammad Asad bay in Italy (1938-1942).

The report tells about the last years of the life of Asad bay, who found refuge in the Italian town of Positano, escaping from persecution. He spent these years in loneliness, deprivation and suffering. The report also spoke about the people who took care of the writer in his difficult days, in particular, about his correspondence with Alice Schulze, who was his nanny, and the role of these people in his life.

After the speeches, an exchange of opinions on issues of interest to the participants took place, in addition, the works of Muhammad Asad bay, photographs reflecting different periods of his life, and letters written by him in his own hand were exhibited in the Cultural Center.