Ali and Nino – Literary Robbery!

Ali and Nino – Literary Robbery! is a book of literary criticism written by author, researcher and professor of Georgian language and literature - Tamar Injia. The work presents a comparative analysis of discussions, descriptions, relationships, opinions and plot structure of two novels: Ali and Nino: A Love Story by Kurban Said (published in 1937, in Austria), and The Snake’s Skin (Das Schlangenhemd) by Grigol Robakidze (published in 1928, in Germany). By comparing passages from both novels (35 comprehensive extracts), the author argues that quotes from Ali and Nino: A Love Story have been copied from The Snake’s Skin, especially in passages related to Tbilisi and Iran. Additionally, by analyzing the literary parallels in both novels, the author shows “side-by-side” similarities in content, namely repeated stories, myths, legends, characters and plot structures.

Professor Injia concludes that Kurban Said’s Ali and Nino: A Love Story is extensively plagiarized from, and owes much of its existence to Grigol Robakidze’s The Snake’s Skin. Some sentences in the original German versions of these two books are not similar but identical. The two pictures shown on the left demonstrates Prof. Injia's argument. The first picture is from Robakidze's "The Snake's Skin" and the second one is from Kurban Said's Ali and Nino: A Love Story. One may find many similar cases like this one if examine the books closely.

In her research, Professor Injia states "Unsurprisingly, the aspect of Kurban Said's life that garners the most attention is the controversy and mystery surrounding his identity, as well as the authorship of his most popular work Ali and Nino". Jewish writer and journalist Lev Nussimbaum (Essad Bey) (1905–1942)[1], Austrian Baroness Elfriede von Ehrenfels (1894–1982)[2] and Azerbaijani writer and statesman Yusif Vazir Chamanzaminli (1887–1943)[3][4] are three candidates who have been claimed to possess the pen name Kurban Said or had a hand in the authorship of the book.

However, in her research professor Injia highlights, that even though the authorship of Ali and Nino: A Love Story is a subject of speculation and controversy, her research does not intend to solve these problems. Therefore, in her research, she refers to Kurban Said as "the one responsible for the theft, equating him, as it is popularly done, with Essad Bey” and states: “It is difficult to say exactly when Kurban Said decided to copy Grigol Robakidze’s The Snake’s Skin into his novel Ali and Nino: after the publication of The Snake’s Skin (1928)[5], after his interview with Grigol Robakidze (1931)[6] or after Grigol Robakidze was nominated for the Nobel Prize (1933). However, it is obvious that this idea of literary robbery was developed at some time from 1928 through 1937, and was fulfilled in 1937, when the novel Ali and Nino was published in Vienna, Austria.[7].

Professor Injia’s research findings were first published in a series of articles in the Georgian newspaper Our Literature (2003)[8][9] and later printed as books Grigol Robakidze… Kurban Said – Literary Robbery (2005) in Georgian[10] and Ali and Nino – Literary Robbery! (2009) in English.[11]. The findings of professor Injia were supported and shared by the representatives from various literary circles, scholars and researchers from Georgia and the US: Gia Papuashvili – documentary movie producer and philologist;[12] Levan Begadze – German linguist, Georgian literary critic and philologist;[13] Zaza Alexidze – former Director of the Georgian National Center of Manuscripts, and discoverer and decipherer of the Caucasian Albanian written script; Betty Blair – researcher of authorship of Ali and Nino: A Love Story and Editor of Azerbaijan International magazine.[14]

References

  1. ^ Reiss, Tom. The Orientalist: Solving the Mystery of a Strange and Dangerous Life. Random House. New York. 2003.
  2. ^ Dr. Barazon, Heinz. Postface to the book Ali and Nino: A Love Story by Kurban Said. Vienna, 1999
  3. ^ Blair, Betty. Who Wrote Azerbaijan's Most Famous Novel Ali and Nino? The Business of Literature, in Azerbaijan International, Vol. 15:2-4 (2011)
  4. ^ FAQ 8-23, in "Frequently Asked Questions about the Authorship of Ali and Nino," Azerbaijan International, Vol. 15:2-4, pp. 52-56.
  5. ^ Robakidze, Grigol. Das Schlangenhemd (ein Roman des georgischen Volkes). Vorwort von Stefan Zweig, Eugen Diederichs Verlag, Jena: 1928
  6. ^ Essad Bey. Gespräch mit Robakidse (conversation with Robakidze). Die literarische Welt (The Literary Wold). July, 1931. No. 31 (p.7)
  7. ^ Injia, Tamar. Ali and Nino – Literary Robbery! IM Books. Norwalk, Conn: 2009. ISBN 0-615-23249-3 / 978-0-615-23249-2, p.13
  8. ^ Injia, Tamar. Again, on Peculiarities of Ali and Nino. Second Letter. Newspaper “Akhali Epoqa” (“New Epoch”), insert “Chveni mtserloba” (“Our Literature”). 30 May – 5 June 2003. Print.
  9. ^ Injia, Tamar. Whether the author of Ali and Nino was acquainted with The Snake’s Skin by Grigol Robakidze? Newspaper “Akhali Epoqa” (“New Epoch”), insert “Chveni mtserloba” (“Our Literature”). 21–27 March 2003. Print.
  10. ^ Injia, Tamar. Grigol Robakidze…. Kurban Said – Literary Robbery. Meridiani Publishing. Tbilisi: 2005. ISBN 99940-46-21-7 / 9789994046218 / 99940-46-21-7
  11. ^ Injia, Tamar. Ali and Nino – Literary Robbery! IM Books. Norwalk, Conn: 2009. ISBN 0-615-23249-3 / 978-0-615-23249-2
  12. ^ Papuashvili, Gia. This Literary Cheating Has Been Revealed. “Akhali Epoqa” (“New Epoch”), insert “Chveni mtserloba” (“Our Literature”). 4–10 April 2003. Print.
  13. ^ Bregadze, Levan. He Had Read It. Newspaper “Akhali Epoqa” (“New Epoch”), insert “Chveni mtserloba” (“Our Literature”). 20–26 June 2003. Print.
  14. ^ Blair, Betty. Who Wrote Azerbaijan's Most Famous Novel "Ali and Nino"? The Business of Literature. Magazine “Azerbaijan International”, Volume 15.2-4 (2011)

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