Murat Monkeuly was Kazakh akyn (poet), zhyrau (singer). He was born in Karabau's village of the Kyzylkogin region of Atyrau area. Early remained the orphan, and was brought up at brother Matay.
Educational background received at the aul mullah who teached Murat the Arab grammar. Since early childhood Monkeuly started to compose verses, and soon he was nicknamed as "boy-akyn".
Having met in 1860 with akyn Zhilkishy, Murat Monkeuly started to participate in aitys (oral poetical competition). Murat Monkeuly gained victories over such known poets as Bala Oraz (1863) and Zhaskelen (1868). He also competed with others akyns among which it is possible to name Kalniyaz, Zhantola, Tynyshtyk, Sholpan and others. These aityses helped Monkeuly to pass the real school of poetic skill.
Murat Monkeuly created a set of songs, tolgaus (a long poetical song devoted to somebody) and dedications in which he addressed to history, sang of love to the native land. In songs-tolgau «In time deceptive, transitory», «About the world, vain, transient», "Death" and in other works he sang of the brave Dzhigit, the girl bride and hunting with a hawk, spoke about rapidity of life, about variability of a frail world.
Akyn used a manner of book poetry in his works. «Ush kiyan» is one of considerable works in which akyn described a difficult situation of the people, his doubts, dreams and hopes. Relevancy of this work confirms that ideological contradictions of the poet were reflected in it. In tolgau "Saryarka" the poet urged Kazakhs to overcome patrimonial estrangement, displace all remnants of the past on a way of the development. Poems “Karasay-Kazi” and “Kaztugan” devoted to Kazakh batyrs, shine historical events from last Kazakh people. These works are devoted to batyrs whom the author shows ardent patriots of the people, brave and courageous defenders of the native land. The poet masterfully used long occurring forms of a verse, aspired to realness, to reliability and concreteness in psychological characteristics, made a contribution in the literary language. Draft copies of his three works («Letter of the dzhigit came back from study», «Writing to your country», «Bir doska») remained. He preserved up to now Makhambet’s song.
In his works Monkeuly tried to use receptions and traditions of versification which passed from father to son throughout many centuries. At the same time, akyn applied progressive ways of expression of the thoughts, aspiring to realness, reliability and concreteness in creation of characters for the poems. Murat Monkeuly made a considerable contribution to development of the Kazakh literary language.
In Monkeuly's works the protest of poor people against oppressors, in particular, against the imperial authorities is brightly reflected.
Monkeula brought up questions of huge importance, and, tried to understand them, often addressed to the past of the people. For this reason in his works communication between the past and the present is obvious.
Works by Murat Monkeuly are published in the following poetical collections: «Murat akyn Gumar Kaziulyna aitkany» (Kazan, 1908), "Akyn" (Kazan, 1912), «Murat akynnyn sozdery» (Tashkent, 1924), «Bes gasyr zhyrlaidy» (1989), «Alkalasa aleumet» (1991) etc. Compositions of Murat Monkeuly are translated into Russian.
The creativity of Murat Monkeuly was studied by H.Dosmukhamedov, S. Seyfullin, M. Auezov, S. Mukanov, A.Tokmaganbetov, B, Omarova, K.Madibayev, K.Zhumaliyev and another.
