Green Desert: The Life and Poetry of Olzhas Suleimenov is the first comprehensive translation of Olzhas Suleimenov's poetry in English. The book provides a concise overview of the poet's rich literary heritage and serves as an introduction to the contemporary literature of Kazakhstan and Eurasia. Suleimenov, whom Russian poet Andrei Voznesensky once aptly called "Asia at the Steering Wheel," has emerged as one of Kazakhstan's and Central Asia's most influential intellectuals, authors, and poets of the last half century. Since 1991, Suleimenov has encouraged Kazakhstanis to embrace...

"Summer Evening, Prairie Night, Land of Golden Wheat: The Outside World in Kazakh Literature offers students the best examples of Kazakh literature covering the twentieth century. The book features, in English translation, works from pre-soviet, soviet, and post-soviet Kazakhstan, and introduces students to the rich literary traditions that formed between nomads and nature. It gives students the opportunity to read the unique prose and poetry traditions of the Central Asia steppes and Eurasia.
The first part of the text is devoted to poetry, while the second part presents prose...