Hokanson, KatyaOrte, Peter2019-09-182019-09-182019-09-18https://hdl.handle.net/1794/24938This thesis takes Akram Aylisli’s Farewell, Aylis as an occasion to dwell on World Literature. Tracing Aylisli’s development as a Soviet writer of Azerbaijani “village prose,” I follow the displacements of the village enacted in his recent works. These displacements reflect Aylisli’s response to the violent events associated with the end of the Soviet Union in the South Caucasus. While carrying on the traditions of “village prose” in a way, Aylisli stands against the chauvinistic forces that conscripted many of its leading figures in Russia. Aylisli’s response rather involves 1) addressing taboo histories of communal violence denied by nationalist mythologies and 2) claiming kinship with authors beyond the established national literature of Azerbaijan. In this sense, he practices a version of the idea—old, yet revolutionary—that “poetry is the universal possession of humankind.” This thesis contains previously published material.en-USAll Rights Reserved.Global NovelTranslationVillage ProseWorld LiteratureElectronic Thesis or Dissertation