Sagi Zhiyenbayev - a poet, a lyric poet, was born on May 15, 1934 in the village of Oymauyt Bayganinsky region of the Aktyubinsk area. Died on May 15, 1994 in Almaty.
He started to work in 1955 after the graduation from Gogol Kyzyl-Orda teacher training college. Worked as Kazakh language and literature teacher at high school No. 10 in Zhezkazgan.
At the same time poems by Zhiyenbayev filled with deep vital contents appeared on periodicals pages. His poems were noticed by the literary public at once.
In 1956 Sagi Zhiyenbayev passed to literary work. He worked in editorial offices of newspapers Kazak adebieti, Kazakstan pionery, and in magazines Zhuldyz and Madeniet zhane turmys. For many years he managed the edition of poetry in Zhazushy publishing house. Was an editor-in-chief in the Ak Orda literary magazine.
Sagi Zhiyenbayev is an author of many widely known poetic books. His first collection of poems Swallow (“Ласточка”) went out in 1959. Then poetic collections Gift (“Подарок”), A steppe flower (“Степной цветок”), Secret of the sea (“Тайна моря”), At dawn (“На заре”), My neighbor (“Мой сосед”), Good morning (“С добрым утром”), White waves (“Белые волны”), Gazelle (“Газель”), I remember that spring (“Я помню ту весну”), Alija (“Алия”), A gold feather (“Золотое перо”), Oymauyt (“Оймауыт”), Blossoming season (“Пора цветения”), Lark (“Жаворонок”), Love terrestrial (“Любовь земная”), Bird of happiness (“Бақ құсы”) and many other poems got by deep thoughts about life, nature, high mission of art were issued.
The childhood and adolescence of Sagi Zhiyenbayev fell on wartime and left a mark on poet’s creativity. Many of his verses are devoted to village life in difficult military years.
Works of Sagi Zhiyenbayev are notable for warm-heartedness, purity of the human relations; they are got by aspiration to good, justice, and they sing of peace work of contemporaries.
Sagi Zhiyenbayev is an author of more than 30 books of verses and poems. His poems about Heroes of the Soviet Union Aliya Moldagulova and Nurken Abdirov are among the most popular.
The best verses of the poet are set to music, and they are widely popular in the people. S. Zhiyenbayev - an author of the libretto to operas Enlik - Kebek, Makhambet, Edyge-Buranny. His song Auyl kartary, Ana, Akerkem - anim, Dostarym, Elim menin are especially loved by the people.
S. Zhiyenbayev also fruitfully worked as a translator of world poetry. The immortal creations of Byron, Pushkin, Lermontov, Tumaniyan, Smelyakov, Gamzatov and other classics of the world literature brightly sounded in Zhiyenbayev’s translations into Kazakh.
When he worked as a board member of the Union of writers of Kazakhstan, he put a lot of work to formation and development of literary youth, having brought up the whole galaxy of lyric poets - followers of his style.
S. Zhiyenbayev’s books are translated and published in Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Uzbek, Azerbaijani, Armenian, Kirghiz, Turkmen, Georgian, and also in German, Polish, Czech, Romanian, Mongolian, French and other languages.
Sagi Zhiyenbayev was awarded the Certificate of honor of the Supreme Council of the Soviet Socialist Republic and other government awards.
