Prominent representative of Azerbaijani literature, philosopher and thinker poet Khalil Rza Uluturk was one of the heralds of the national democratic movement. He was one of the best continuers of the ideology of Turkism, Azerbaijanism and independence in Azerbaijani literature.
According to Day.Az, today 92nd anniversary of the birth of the national poet Khalil Rza Uluturk. The outstanding poet of Azerbaijan Khalil Rza Uluturk was born on October 21, 1932 in the Azerbaijani village of Pirebbe, Salyan region. His grandfather Khalil gave him his name. Khalil grew up in care and love. When he was seven years old, he began studying at secondary school number 2 in the Salyan region. Khalil’s school years were a period of preparation for entering the world of fiction and the painful, romantic creative sphere of poetry. Reading oral folk literature, works of classical writers and modern writers inevitably awakened in him a strong desire to write and create. From his youth, Khalil Rza sometimes tried to express in poetic language the events that worried him and made him think.
His first poem, “The Book,” was published in 1948 in the newspaper “Azerbaijan Pioneer.” In 1949, Khalil Rza Uluturk entered the philological faculty of Azerbaijan State University. While studying at the university, he actively participates in a literary circle, where he meets such personalities as Bakhtiyar Vahabzadeh, Jafar Khandan and Mirza Ibragimov.
In 1954, after graduating from university, Khalil Rza began working in the editorial office of the magazine “Azerbaijan Gadiny”.
Being a literary worker of the magazine, he often appears with articles in other publications, and more and more of his poems are published. In the same 1954, Khalil Rza joined the Writers’ Union. The first collection of his poems was published in the book “Spring Is Coming” in 1957.
After the events of January 20, 1990 in Baku, on January 26, Khalil Rza was arrested and sent to Moscow to Lefortovo prison. He stays there until October 1990, and then he is sent to Baku, where, after a month-long trial, the poet is acquitted and released. During the military conflict in Karabakh, Khalil Rza Uluturk is often in war zones and speaks to soldiers. The son of Khalil Rza Uluturk, Tabriz Khalilbeyli, was a participant in the First Karabakh War, where he rose to the top of the martyrdom. By decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated October 8, 1992, he was awarded the title of National Hero of Azerbaijan.
In 1992, Khalil Rza was awarded the honorary title “People’s Poet of Azerbaijan”.
In 1994, during the official visit of national leader Heydar Aliyev to France, Khalil Rza Uluturk was also included in the delegation. This visit was the last in his life, and some time later the poet died. He was buried in the Alley of Honor in Baku. Posthumously awarded the Istiglal Order.