On April 23, 2021, the Department of English Language and Literature held this year’s round of its Poetry Recitation contest, online on Teams like last year’s. The contest went under the title ‘Poetic Voices’ this year. What was a striking and remarkable fact about this year’s Poetry Recitation was that in the more than 50 Khazar University students delivering their poetry, a considerable number belonged to departments and majors other than English, accomplishing a hearteningly excellent job too. The poems came from a healthy patchwork of different eras, poets and styles. Staff from the University were also present. The event took around two hours and a half.

Here are the names of the winners for the first round of the competition held last year:

Winner: Khayala Abbasova;

Runner-up: Rahila Mammadova, Gunel Hashimli, Shams Imanova;

1st runner-up: Sonasi Veliyeva, Tamella Mammadli, Zakiyya Amirli, Naile Ibadova. Certificate of Appreciation was also issued for Fidan Isbarova for her contribution to media technology support.

Here are the names of the winners for this year’s competition, Poetic Voices:

Winner (1st place): Neyjen Sultanova, Nastassia Kalasauskaya, and Cavidan Esgerov;

Runner-up (2 place): Afaq Mustafazade, Xanmed Pasazade, and Renat Mecidov;

1st runner-up (3 place): Afeliya Qocayeva, Becky Idahosa, Gulnaz Allahverdiyeva, and Aysen Abisova;

2nd runner-up (4th place): Togrul Salmanli, Ulker Memmedova, Etir Quliyeva, and Gulare Memisova.

This get-together went down on a wonderful scale; it was cause for delight, heart and momentum to have so many students and staff come together in these uncertain times. The event was, indeed, expected to act as some relief from the current hard times, but, in practice, it turned out to breathe even more invigorating life into our hearts and hopes than we had expected, making for more of an escape from the current grim and humdrum realities surrounding us than we had anticipated. We didn’t even feel the two and a half hours flying by. Literature, poetry in this case, swooped down from its soaring heights to offer exactly the sort of escape, joy and hope we only had read about in literary theory.

Due thanks go to the Department staff, and the many students bravely rising to the occasion and participating. It is all but a tribute to their strength of will and quality of confidence for public performance, important keys to success.