Kurdistan moves to preserve legacy of late writer and translator Aziz Gardi

Shafaq News – Erbil

The Kurdish Ministry of Culture and Youth announced that it is prepared, along with the Prime Minister’s office, to purchase the cultural estate of the late Kurdish writer and translator Aziz Gardi and establish a library and museum in his name.

The ministry said Gardi’s manuscripts and private collection form part of the public heritage and should be preserved, published, and circulated for the benefit of Kurdish literature.

A committee has been tasked with negotiating with his family to secure the collection, and proposals have included buying back his home and employing relatives at the planned institution. While his heirs have not yet accepted, the ministry stressed it will proceed with measures to protect his legacy and copyrights.

Aziz Ahmad Abdullah, known as Aziz Gardi, was born in Erbil in 1947 and died in 2022 at the age of 75 after kidney failure. Over five decades, he became one of the most prominent Kurdish translators, introducing readers to more than 150 world classics, including Dante’s Divine Comedy, Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, and works by Oriana Fallaci. He also published pioneering studies on Kurdish rhetoric and poetry.

Fluent in several Kurdish dialects as well as English, French, Arabic, and Persian, Gardi earned degrees in French and Kurdish literature, a Ph.D. in literature from Salahaddin University in 1999, and a second doctorate in English literature from Koya University in 2009. He taught at Salahaddin University before dedicating his life to translation.

Independent of political parties, he coined new terms in Sorani, inspired generations of translators, and shaped the modern Kurdish literary voice.

The Ministry of Culture and Youth described his work as “a great gift to the Kurdish library” and affirmed its commitment to ensuring his books and studies remain accessible to the public.