The poet who helped invent modern Tajikistan: Reading Gulrukhsor Safieva’s “Mirror of the Day”5 min read
To understand modern Tajikistan, it is not enough to read political analyses or economic reports – one should also read Gulrukhsor Safieva. Few writers have shaped contemporary Tajik national consciousness as profoundly as the poet whose Mirror of the Day (Оинаи рӯз/Oinai Ruz/ Зеркало дня, 1984) transformed poetry into a meditation on language, identity and survival, making her one of the defining literary voices of independent Tajikistan.
Despite Gulrukhsor Safieva’s stature in Tajik literature, Mirror of the Day is now remarkably difficult to obtain. Originally published in Tajik as Оинаи рӯз and subsequently issued in Russian as Зеркало дня, the collection has never been published as a complete English translation. Although individual poems by Safieva have appeared in English, French, German, Spanish, Bulgarian and several other languages through literary journals, international poetry festivals and anthologies, Mirror of the Day itself has remained available only in Tajik and Russian. It has not been widely republished, and copies rarely appear through mainstream booksellers, leaving most readers dependent on libraries, specialist collections or second-hand markets. Its scarcity is striking: one of Tajikistan’s most important poetic works remains far less accessible than its cultural significance would actually suggest.
“My eyes speak in Tajik”
“My eyes are more expressive than my tongue. My eyes speak in Tajik. My pain becomes tearful with Tajik. My happiness becomes happy with Tajik.”
These lines are best understood against the backdrop of Tajikistan’s final decades within the Soviet Union. Although Tajik was recognised as the republic’s official language, Russian dominated higher education, government and public life, while Persian cultural heritage was often overshadowed by Soviet identity. As the USSR began to weaken in the late 1980s, a cultural revival emerged across Tajikistan, with writers and intellectuals placing renewed emphasis on the Tajik language, history and literary traditions. Independence in 1991 was soon followed by a devastating civil war, making questions of language and national identity even more central to the country’s search for unity.
Safieva’s work reflects the growing importance of the Tajik language as a symbol of national identity during the final years of the Soviet Union. Rather than presenting language simply as a means of communication, Safieva describes Tajik as the medium through which emotion, memory and identity become possible. For her, losing the language would mean losing not only literature but the emotional vocabulary through which a nation understands itself.
Poetry as identity
Safieva’s poetry is known for its emotional language, strong imagery and close connection to Tajik and Persian literary traditions. She writes about love, loss, women’s lives, history and national identity, often combining classical poetic symbols with a modern and personal voice.
The celebrated Kyrgyz writer Chingiz Aitmatov strongly praised her work and wrote the foreword to Mirror of the Day. His support mattered because he was already one of the Soviet Union’s most respected authors. By presenting Safieva as an important continuation of the great Persian-Tajik poetic tradition, Aitmatov helped introduce her to a wider Soviet readership and confirmed that her poetry had significance far beyond Tajikistan. His praise also reflected what made her distinctive: she could draw on an ancient literary heritage while speaking directly about the anxieties and hopes of modern Tajik society.
Why Mirror of the Day still matters
Safieva’s poetry became particularly influential during the final Soviet years and the difficult period surrounding Tajikistan’s independence. She came to be regarded as one of the principal literary figures articulating a specifically Tajik national consciousness – one grounded not only in statehood but also in language, Persian cultural heritage and collective memory.
That importance has not diminished. In today’s Tajikistan, where nation-building continues to rely heavily on historical continuity and cultural identity, Safieva’s work occupies a unique place. Her poems remind readers that the nation is sustained not only by institutions but by a shared language, literature and historical imagination.
Unlike more narrowly political writing, Mirror of the Day continues to resonate across generations because its central concern is not ideology but belonging.
Between literature and politics
Safieva has never been simply a poet. During the late Soviet period and the civil war she became an unusually visible public intellectual, earning both admiration and criticism for her political interventions. Safieva’s political views changed considerably over time. During the collapse of the Soviet Union and the early years of Tajikistan’s civil war, some of her writing expressed strong nationalist and anti-Russian views. After living in exile in Russia and returning to Tajikistan in 1997, however, she adopted a more conciliatory tone, acknowledged Russia’s role in sheltering Tajik refugees, and increasingly called for reconciliation and national recovery.
Gulrukhsor Safieva remains one of Tajikistan’s most influential public intellectuals, combining literary prestige with a willingness to speak on political and social issues. In 2013, an interview in which she criticised the Tajik government was followed by the sudden disappearance of the Dushanbe television channel that broadcast it, highlighting both her public prominence and the sensitivity of her views in an increasingly restrictive media environment. Beyond her poetry, Safieva has spoken out in support of free expression and the role of writers in society. Today, she remains an influential public figure whose voice continues to shape discussions about Tajikistan’s identity, culture and future.
Lost in Translation
More than forty years after its publication, Mirror of the Day still reminds readers that nations are built not only through politics and institutions but also through language, memory and poetry. Safieva’s poetry offers one of the clearest literary windows into modern Tajikistan, yet it remains largely inaccessible to the international audience that would benefit most from reading it. The fact that one of Tajikistan’s most influential literary works remains unavailable in English is a loss not only for world literature, but also for anyone seeking to understand Central Asia beyond headlines and geopolitics.
