Hüseyin Cavid Erginsoy was born in Nakhchivan on October 24, 1882. His father was Rasizâde Molla Abdullah, who was a eulogist, and his mother was Ümmi Leyla. His family was originally from the village of Shahtakhty in Nakhchivan and immigrated to Nakhchivan in 1877.

Education

He received his first education within the family. His elder brother, Sheikh Mehemmed, was involved in his education. After completing primary school in a mollakhana, he studied at Mekteb-i Terbiye, where the educator Mehemmed Tağı Sıdkı taught with a new method. In 1898, he continued his education in Tabriz. In 1903, he returned to Nakhchivan from Tabriz, and in the same year, he went to Istanbul.

In Istanbul, he attended classes as an auditor at the Literature Branch of Dârülfünun. He completed Rıza Tevfik's preparatory course. Due to a severe eye disease, he took a break from his education and returned to Tabriz for a while. In 1905, he came back to Istanbul, started learning French, and maintained his contacts with literary circles.

Istanbul Years and First Literary Activities

During his time in Istanbul, he met literati such as Tevfik Fikret, Abdülhak Hâmid, and Rıza Tevfik. His poems were published in newspapers and magazines such as Sırât-ı Müstakîm, Şark-ı Rus, Hayat, and Füyûzât. During his stay in Turkey, he became acquainted with Western literature and produced works under the influence of romanticism.

His Works in Azerbaijan

In 1909, he returned to Nakhchivan. He continued his literary activities in Nakhchivan between 1909-1910, in Ganja between 1911-1913, and in Tbilisi in 1914.

Between 1915-1918, he taught Turkish language and literature at Sefa School in Baku. In 1917, he served on the literature committee of the Society of Writers and Literati, founded in Baku.

Life After 1918

In 1918, with the establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, he moved to Baku. Escaping Armenian attacks, he moved to Anzali in Iran, then to Tabriz, and Nakhchivan. In 1918-1919, he worked as a teacher in Nakhchivan. In the same years, he married Müşkinaz Hanım and had a daughter named Turan and a son named Ertuğrul.

Activities After 1920

In 1920, he returned to Baku and worked as a teacher in secondary schools. Later, he served as a literature teacher at the Theatre Vocational School and the Baku Teacher Training School.

He retired in 1926. In the same year, he went to Berlin to treat his eyes and attended the Congress of Turkology held in Baku.

Soviet Pressure and Exile

In the 1930s, he faced severe criticism in the Azerbaijani press on the grounds that he did not comply with the ideological demands of the Soviet regime. In 1932, he was admitted to the Writers' Union, but the pressures continued.

In 1937, he was arrested on charges of hostility to the regime, exiled to Siberia, and his works were banned.

Death

The death of Hüseyin Cavid, who lost his life in exile, remained uncertain for a long time. According to official statements made later, it was accepted that he died in Irkutsk, Siberia, in 1941. In the 1980s, his reputation was restored, and his body was brought to his birthplace, Nakhchivan, and buried in a monumental tomb.

Literary Life

He began his literary activities in 1904 with Turkish and Persian love poems written under the pseudonyms "Gülçin" and "Arif". While individual and emotional themes were dealt with in his early works, social and philosophical themes gained prominence in his later works. In addition to issues such as injustice, oppression, and misery in society, he focused on metaphysical matters, human problems, and pessimistic themes. He did not conform to the social realism movement imposed by the Soviets. İsmail Gaspıralı's principle of "unity in language, thought, and action," Ali Bey Hüseynzade's ideas, and Ziya Gökalp's works were influential in shaping his intellectual world.

Language Conception

Influenced by his education in Turkey, he used a language close to Turkish of Turkey in his works. In his later periods, features of Azerbaijani Turkish became more pronounced.

In his articles and letters, he used a heavier language compared to his poems and plays, incorporating Arabic and Persian words.

Works

Poetry Books

• Past Days (1913, Tbilisi)
• Spring Dews (1917, Tbilisi)

Verse Dramas

• Mother (1913, Tbilisi): The first verse drama of Azerbaijani literature
• Sheikh San'an (1917, Baku): Deals with a Sufi theme
• Prophet (1923, Baku): A work idealizing Prophet Muhammad
• Iblis (1924, Baku): A philosophical tragedy
• The Abyss (1926, Baku): Criticism of misguided Westernization

Other Theatre Works

• Maral (1913)
• Şeydâ (1917, 1925)
• Âfet (1922)
• Topal Timur (1926)
• Telli Saz (1930)
• Siyavuş (1933)
• Şehlâ (1934)
• Hayyam (1935)
• Iblis's Revenge (1936)

Collaborative Works

• Literature Lessons (1919) (with Abdullah Şaik)

Lost Works

• A part of the epic titled "Azer" along with the works Köroğlu, Telli Saz, and Şehlâ are lost.