Famous figures of American literature Haleh Lisa Gafori and Christopher Merrill arrived in Ashgabat, they spent a number of creative evenings which are acquainting Turkmen people with the subtleties of the  American writing and culture in the context of the International Writing Program of the University of Iowa and the celebration of the 300th anniversary of Makhtumkuli Fragi.

Recently, they talked with youth who are learning English and shared their personal stories, experiences of translating works of various authors and literary techniques that helps to develop creativity and artistic narration.

Christopher Merrill is an American poet, essayist, journalist and translator. His initiative granted Iowa City as the UNESCO’s City of Literature. As the head of the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa, he spoke about this educational institution’s activities.

During the evening, the participants shared their opinion on the significance of the heritage of the great poet and philosopher of the East Makhtumkuli Fragi for the Turkmen people and read his poems in the Turkmen language. The sound of the national speech brought special joy to the guests.

In return, foreign writers noted the importance of transmitting Makhtumkuli's poetry not only in the original, but also to translate into other languages in order to make it available to a wide audience.

For example, performance artist, poet, translator, musician and teacher Haleh Lisa Gafori has Iranian roots. And the great result of her creative work was the translation of the works of the Persian poet Jalaleddin Rumi into English. Due her subtle feeling of oriental poetry, Gafori brought wise philosophical and poetic heritage of Rumi to the public.

She read fragments from Rumi's poems in an original manner, turning this presentation into a master class of performance of oriental poetry.

An important part of the cultural exchange was the holding of a round table with representatives of the editorial offices of the magazines "Dünýä edebiýaty" and "Garagum", also the newspapers "Nesil" and "Edebiýat we sungat". During the meeting, topical issues of the modern literary process, specificity of publishing activities and opportunities for cooperation between Turkmen and American authors were discussed.

During the visit, representatives of American literature will also visit the historical monuments of our country and hold creative evenings in the cities of Dashoguz and Mary.