In these pre-New Year days, everyone takes stock of the past year, looking back and wondering if it was a successful and productive one. Renowned writer and award-winning author Hemra Shirov also presented his creative "report" on his work. Over a cup of aromatic tea, he shared his experience of his 75th anniversary year.

— What does 2025 mean for you?

— This year, my creative collaborators and I completed a large-scale project, conceived and nurtured for many years. We published a multi-volume edition of my works: poetry, prose, articles, essays, plays, musical compositions based on my poems, and much more. The original plan was to publish 28 volumes. But over the years, it turned out that so much material had accumulated that we, as they say, automatically printed 35 volumes. And that's not all. There's still a lot of material left. But we've already decided to complete this in 2026.

In addition to the books, thanks to the support of Ashgabat libraries, which actively engage readers, we organized creative meetings with students from the capital's schools. I especially remember the meetings with the students and teachers from the A.S. Pushkin, a school for gifted children, and schools Nos. 132, 51, 82, and 76. Each meeting was unique in its own way and unfolded spontaneously, without any pre-scripted plan. The children listened with interest to my stories about creativity and asked questions. Some even stuck in my memory. For example, it was funny to answer the question about what subject I excelled in as a child.

This year, two plays, "The Boar's Bridge" and "There Were Two Friends," were accepted for theatrical production, and three or four animated films based on my poems and children's rhymes were released.

After the publication of the 28-volume edition, which included numerous photographs, I began receiving photos from all over the country. I discovered photographs I had never even known existed. These were pictures left in the archives of companies and institutions, and photos kept in family albums. In my time, I traveled extensively as a journalist and writer, both within the country and abroad, meeting with artists and readers, and speaking at various events. These photographs come from there. They are rare shots of famous composers, artists, writers, actors, and directors... For example, I even received a photo from Kamchatka, where I served as an officer from 1972 to 1974. I had already forgotten about this photograph.

Overall, 2025 was a very productive and rewarding year. I'd like to give myself a tick.

— What about 2026? Will there be new works, productions, and interesting meetings?

— I'm currently preparing a traveling exhibition of experimental poetry. I've long been fascinated by this genre and have accumulated a large collection of visual poems, so we decided to organize the exhibition. Each calligram (in other words, visual poem) is printed on a separate large-format sheet, which is then framed, as is customary in fine art.

And then we plan to organize a meeting with poetry and painting enthusiasts simultaneously. After all, graphic poetry is a relatively new, related art form. Photos of all the exhibits will be compiled into a book, which visitors to the exhibition can receive as a souvenir. The goal of this exhibition is to introduce everyone to the diversity of experimental genres in literature. Perhaps after visiting the exhibition, some will be inspired by this idea and begin creating their own works.

In addition, in 2026, I plan to collaborate with composers on new theatrical musical works in various formats. And, of course, I'm not forgetting my youngest readers. We're currently preparing to release baby books with interactive, playful stories, poems, and riddles. Children will be able to not only read them, but also "play them out" with their parents. This will help instill a love of reading in children from an early age and get them away from their screens.

— What would you wish ORIENT readers for the New Year, 2026?

— Don't be afraid to be creative, express yourself, seek out something new, create, try... Don't be afraid to make mistakes, take creative lumps, or appear funny and awkward. Find your own path, your own unique way to share yourself and your ideas!

Aina YOLBARSOVA