The beginnings
Georgian literature began with Christianity, after the invention of the alphabet in the 4th century. In the early Middle Ages, it was essentially religious, alongside princely chronicles. The first surviving work is Le Martyre de Chouchanik, attributed to Iakob Tsourtaveli (6th century). By the 7th century, Georgian monks were already translating religious works (lives of saints, the Bible). At the same time, original works, such as the sermons of Bishop Ioanne of Bolnissi, began to appear. The 11th and 12th centuries were marked by Persian influence( GeorgianVis ramiani, translated and adapted from the Persian Vis et Ramin ). It's impossible not to mention Chota Roustaveli (1172-1216), one of the greatest Georgian writers of the Middle Ages, often dubbed the "Homer of the Caucasus". Indeed, his greatest work, The Tiger-Skinned Knight, is an epic of 1,671 quatrains, a masterpiece of Georgian literature. It's a work that's found in every household and studied at school. No student should miss out on this literary work.
The following centuries
During the Mongol domination, literature went into decline. It wasn't until the end of the 17th century that the period of the "Silver Age" began, ending in the 19th century. During this period, a secular and philosophical literature developed. Soulkhan-Saba Orbeliani (1658-1725), also a statesman who visited the court of Louis XIV and met Jean de La Fontaine, was the leading figure: he was a translator, lexicographer and fabulist. His philosophical tales, inspired by Persian mythology, are among the finest works of national literature. From 1801 (the date of Georgia's annexation by Russia), Russia represented a bridge to the European cultural movements that were taking root in Georgia (Enlightenment, Romanticism). At the end of the 19th century, the literary elite of Kutaisi and Tbilisi developed a literature inspired by a sense of national identity. The great names of this period were Nikoloz Baratashvili (1817-1844), Akaki Tsereteli (1840-1915) and Ilya Tchavtchavadze (1837-1907).
The 20th century
The early 20th century saw the emergence of avant-garde movements, inspired by the literary life of Paris. The year 1915 is considered the birth of the Georgian Symbolist movement, which from 1916 published the magazine Les Cornes Bleues. The group, whose members included Paolo Iachvili, Titsian Tabidze, Guiorgui Leonidze and Valerien Gaprindachvili, remained active until 1932, when it was banned. The great novelist of this period was Mikhail Djavakhishvili.
While the early Soviet era favored avant-garde movements such as Futurism, the Stalinist period was one of socialist realism. Only propaganda literature without authors was allowed, and the country's literary elite was decimated during the Great Purges. After de-Stalinization, dissident literature became a vehicle for nationalism, embodied by Konstantine Gamsakhourdia.
Nodar Doumbadze, Gouram Dotchanachvili and Otar Tchiladze were the other great novelists of the 1960s-1980s, images of a "thaw" literature that was freer and more individual, dealing with Georgian reality in a humorous, sometimes folkloristic and good-natured way.
After the Soviet Union
The period following the break-up of the Soviet Union, marked by the chaos into which the country was plunged, was not very conducive to literature. Nevertheless, new names appeared on the literary scene. Among them, Datho Barbakadze and David Tchikladze, whose writing reflects a new mentality, a new vision of the world and its upheavals. Writer Aka Mortchiladze(Journey to Karabagh) and playwright Lacha Boughadze are the most popular names of this new generation, who tackle difficult themes of contemporary Georgian society with a sense of humor.
Let's also take a look at a few contemporary authors. Omar Tourmanaouli (1959-2019), a writer and translator into Georgian-French, has produced collections of poetry(La Mère des jours et les nuits, 1984; Les Péchés et les marguerites, 1991; Que, 1994) and two novels(L'Abkhazie... les notes du soldat, 1993; La Veuve, l'hirondelle et le voyant, 1998). We now turn to screenwriter and author Mikho Mossoulichvili (b. 1962), known for his collections of short stories(Les Icônes de jour de lune, 1990; La Pierre de la miséricorde, 2011), novels(Le Chevalier à n'importe quel temps, 1999; Le Vol sans un fût, 2001; Le Grand Elle-ours, 2013) and plays(Mon rouge-gorge, 2012; Laudakia Caucasia ou Un portrait psychanalytique joyeux d'un siècle furieux, 2013). Born in 1973, Zaza Burchuladze is an integral part of the new Georgian literary scene. Like Mikho Mossoulichvili, he is a screenwriter, playwright and author. He has written five novels: Jazz minérale Tbilissi (2003), Évangile selon âne (2005), Adibas (2009) and L'Ange gonflable (2011). This futuristic novel, set against the backdrop of the revelation of the soul of contemporary Georgia, was awarded the prize for best Georgian novel. Let's also mention Paata Shamugia (b. 1983), editor of the weekly Liberali, who is also a poet. His collections include L'Extraterrestre (1999), SOS (2000), Révolution (2005), Antikhaosani (2007), L'Avantage (2010) and Akhatistos (2011). For this last collection, Paata Shamugia was awarded the Saba prize.
Finally, a few authors of Georgian origin living abroad. Kéthévane Davrichewy, born in Paris in 1965, studied modern literature, theater and film. In 1995, thanks to the memories of her grandparents, she wrote a collection of Georgian tales. Elena Botchorichvili, who lives in Canada and is also a journalist, has invented a new literary genre: the stenographic novel (writing in very short sentences). Her novels include Le Tiroir au papillon (1999), Opéra (2002), La Tête de mon père (2011), Belle vie (2015)..
