Intoduction to A Patch of White Mist

Mend-Oyoo’s poetry is firmly rooted within his Mongolian heritage – a heritage that is simultaneously embedded within and distinct from the entire universe. Hence, from the very opening poem In Search Of Myself the poet engages us not only with a superb lyricism but also a profound philosophy that has obviously been garnered over many decades of reflective study.

Meditation allows him, no, impels him, towards an empathetic identity with the whole of creation. This relationship encompasses the winds on his beloved steppe – where he led a nomadic life - as well as being ‘worn away with the rocks’ and journeying ‘to heaven with the last old man who can intone epic tales.’ In his affinity he crosses boundaries that may be viewed as an impediment to lesser mortals, and even now, in his mature years, he continues his quest to discover his own unique position, the raison d’etre for his existence.

I exist in unnumbered places, I go everywhere,

wandering and withering away in my search for embodiment.

(In Search Of Myself)

Such persistence, such courage, is not given to everyone - most would simply settle for a philosophy by which to exist comfortably within the world, and quite possibly a limited world at that. The poet’s deep involvement with Buddhism fuels his philosophy and from this life-long involvement he draws his strength. This strength lends an urgency to Mend-Oyoo’s poetry in his chronicling of his pursuit of selfhood that is so lucidly and lyrically expressed that he has indeed

…I sewed my poem-children with a perfect silken thread.

(Song Of The Moon)

Despite achieving an acknowledged eminence in many fields including, as is evident here, being a distinguished poet, his humanity is evident in his love of his family and willingness to engage in the simplest of tasks to give even the youngest of them great pleasure.

….for my grandson Bilgüüdei I have cut a felt fox.

(The Cycle Of The Life Of Stars And The Way Of Men)

Mend-Oyoo’s position as the President of the Academy of Poetry and Culture necessitates that he travels throughout the world, engaging in conferences and projects which impact upon world literature yet, as he so endearingly indicates,

Far from home, I am suffering, missing my wife’s tea.

(The Cycle Of The Life Of Stars And The Way Of Men)

His travels began many decades ago when he moved from the steppe to the capital and spent years becoming used to a noisy city. His adaptation to a totally foreign life to that of his boyhood may be regarded as complete when one hears his mobile phone constantly ringing, his office crowded with visitors from Russia, England, Korea, America, in fact from all points of the compass. However, his heart remains faithful to the old ways learnt on the blue-haze steppe, including veneration of his ancestors. Despite all his achievements the modest Mend-Oyoo knows that to leave behind one’s heritage is to court disaster.

When the sorrowful horse fights against its homeland,

When the dark mirage runs away towards the plain,

Then, even the human child's freedom is hindered.

(When The Sorrowful Horse Fights Against Its Homeland…)

The rich tapestry of poetry which Mend-Oyoo weaves will live long in the mind of the Western reader. His exploration of the intimate connection between the personal and the universal is expressed with delicate perception and an undoubted gift for language. An added bonus for Western readers is that the book is an informative, introductory insight into the Mongolian psyche – a psyche which embraces the topography not simply of Mongolia or even the universe but of the world beyond this world, an ‘otherness’ which travels with the poet as surely as his nomadic ancestors. 

by Ruth O'Callaghan

яруу найраг гэж юу вэ?....

/2006 онд бичсэн нэгэн нийтлэлийнхээ төгсгөлийн хэсгээс.../

..... Би урт холын аянд нисч явахдаа яруу найргийн тухай яриа яахлаараа дандаа дүүлэн нисэх утга агуулгатай байдаг билээ хэмээн бодож суув. Ер нь яруу найраг гэж юу вэ? Гэсэн асуултанд хамгийн сонгомол тодорхойлолтыг хэн өгсөн билээ? гэж ном судар онгичиж үзэв. Абуль Фараж нэгэнтээ “Яруу найраг гэж юу болохыг би маш сайн мэднэ. Яг энэ гээд хэлчих гэвэл мэдэхээ байчихдаг” гэснийг хамгийн оносон хариулт гэж үзсэн ч байна. Яруу найргийн тухай, яруу найргийн үг хэлний тухай ч юмуу тодорхой нэг хэсэг ойлголтын тухай бол оночтой үг олон байнаа. Яг, яруу найраг гэж юу вэ? гэсэн асуултанд төгс хариулт одоо болтол гараагүй юм байна даа хэмээн бодоход хүрлээ.
Саяхан нэг өдөр Дэлхийн Яруу Найргийн өдрийг тэмдэглэх тухай бодож суугаад Явуухулан багшийнхаа “Шүлэг минь, хүлэг минь” хэмээх алдарт шүлгийг дахин уншаад ганцаараа дуу алдаж, босон харайлаа. Тэрбээр яруу найргийг,

УХААН БОДЛООС БОСООГООРОО ТӨРСӨН ГУУРСТ ХҮЛЭГ

хэмээн тодорхойлжээ. Морин дэл дээр нисч омог омогшил авсан Монгол найрагчаас өөр хэн ингэж томъёолж чадах билээ? Чухам бидний эрээд хайгаад байсан яруу найраг гэж юу вэ? гэсэн асуултанд өгсөн төгс хариулт энэ л байна. Би эрснээ оллоо! Олох олохдоо Монголоосоо оллоо!
Монголын үр сад бидний морин дэл дээр нисч ахуйд “ухаан бодолд” өдөлсөн тэрхүү онгодын “гуурст хүлэг” буюу яруу найргийн жигүүр дэвэн дүүлэх цаг болоод нөхцөл нь бүрдвэй. “Гүү-үү-үү-үүг”!

Яруу найрагч Г.МЭНД-ООЁО.

Улаанбаатар. 2006.III

Р.ТААГҮРИЙН “ӨРГӨЛИЙН ДУУЛАЛ”

/Хүн төрөлхөтний сод их яруу найрагч Р.Таагүрийн мэлмий гийсний 150 жилийн ойд/

Г.МЭНД-ООЁО

Р.ТААГҮРИЙН “ӨРГӨЛИЙН ДУУЛАЛ” НОМЫН МОНГОЛ ОРЧУУЛГЫН

ЯРУУ НАЙРАГТ ХИЙСЭН ЗАРИМ АЖИГЛАЛТ

Жамцын Бадраагийн туурвилын сан хөмрөг дотор яруу найргийн орчуулгын бүтээл том байр суурь эзэлнэ. Түүний орчуулгын бүтээлийн томоохоноос дурдвал Орос хэлнээс “Евгений Онегин”, дуурь “Лусын дагина” дуурь, санскрит хэлнээс “Энэтхэг цэцэн үгс”, хинди хэлнээс Р.Таагүрийн “Өргөлийн дуулал”-ыг орчуулсан байна. Өнөөдөр бид Энэтхэгийн их соён гэгээрүүлэгч, яруу найрагч, гүн ухаантан Рабиндранаат Таагүрийн Нобелийн шагнал хүртсэн “Өргөлийн дуулал” хэмээх суут бүтээлийн монгол орчуулгын яруу найргийн өв санг эргэн ажиглахыг хүсч байна.

Одоогоос 40 гаруй жилийн өмнө Ж.Бадраа агсан энэ сод бүтээлийг орчуулахдаа дорнын бичгийн мэргэд томоохон туурвил бүтээлдээ зориулж төгсгөлийн шүлэг бичдэг уламжлалаар “Өргөлийн дуулал орчуулсан тухайд” хэмээх төгсгөлийн шүлэг (1964 онд) бичжээ. Тухайн үеийн үзэл сурталын шалгуураар орж төгсгөлийн шүлэг нь нийтлэгдээгүй ч зохиогчийн эрдэм номын сан хөмрөгт нь үлдэж хоцорсон байна. Одоо энэ шүлгийг үзье.

THE PATHS I’VE WALKED, PEN IN HAND

by G Mend-Ooyo

1
The Mongol people adapted the Uigur script to their own language a thousand years ago and, in the thirteenth century, Chinggis Haan made it the official national script. Thus for over a thousand years, our cultural heritage was created through the medium of the Mongol Uigur script. The development of this valuable intellectual legacy ceased, however, during the twentieth century.
Mongolia was, for some three hundred years, under the control of the Manchu, from whom they gained their freedom only at the beginning of the twentieth century. During the 1930s, after the estalishment of the socialist state, pressure from Stalin led to the destruction of the intellectual literary culture and, after 1940, the official script in Mongolia was changed to the Russian Cyrillic. In this way, during the twentieth century, the Mongolian people were split away from their own cultural and historical roots and, following this change in script, those who wrote and spoke about these ancient Mongol roots and traditions, and about the Chinggisid empire and its history were accused of having nationalist sympathies.
I graduated from high school in 1960, and from then until the 1980s, my intellectual development was controlled, the Mongolian people were led by the Mongolian Revolutionary Communist parts and were expected thereby to mimic Russian Soviet communism, and such were the standards by which young intellectuals were to be evaluated.

DARK CRANES, FLYING TOWARDS YOU

foreword of the book "I am Coming to you" by G Mend-Ooyo



The blue lake of dreams. You couldn't paint such a blue. On the banks of the lake, a few dark cranes. There's a woman with the cranes. You couldn't paint such a woman, but you also couldn't look directly upon her, her eyes are bright, her gaze hidden. In my sixteen year old's dream, the curtain of fate rises, this woman has come into the world, together with the cranes. The dream-woman would take my hand and lead me. The dark cranes were her vehicle. They are beyond the folds of white clouds in the dark blue sky, she says. You are my husband, she says, let us fly away.

“I am coming to you” poem in 30 languages

UNESCO announced that every year the March 21^st would be the World Poetry Day which is being celebrated for the 12^th time by Mongolian poets. This year a poetry and calligraphy exhibition called “Mother Earth” is being held for the occasion. Also, as part of the occasion and exhibition, an opening ceremony of a book which is a collection of 30 different translations of the poem “I am coming to you” by Mongolian poet Mend-Ooyo will be held at 15:30, on March 23^rd at the Mongolian National Modern Art gallery, the same place of the exhibition.

Various foreign language translations of the poem will be recited during the opening ceremony which will be attended by many cultural and literary figures of Mongolia.

Also on this special day, a message from the General-Director of UNESCO will be announced to the public.

Purpose of Mother Earth calligraphy exhibition

- Praise-poems for the ancestors
- The flowering of Mongolian calligraphy from Mother Earth
- The union of nature and language arts
- Poetry heard in pictures, pictures growing from poetry
- What can an artists do to save Mother Earth?

Thirty years ago, the poet G.Mend-Ooyo wrote a poem called "Mother Earth," for which the composer R.Enhbazar wrote music. Performed by the snger B.Badaruugan, this work connected with people's hearts, expressing the meaning of taking care of Mother Earth.

During the period of political change, human civilisation has sought progress on the one hand, and has laid waste on the other hand to the treasures of the earth, has thus been losing the ecological battle, and is now approaching the edge of extinction.

In such times, the ideas behind this poem "Mother Earth" are all the more valuable, they bring a connection between the human heart and Mother Earth, and they make us think about how we are all children to the same mother.
Global warming, the melting of the polar ice, sunned flash-floods, tidal waves, droughts, earthquakes, the destruction of wild banimals and beneficial trees and plants, and desertification all proceed from human error, and all are connected with the loss of the natural system by which the earth offers its riches without prejudice.

We must, then, consider the question as to how artists, living in today's world, might protect Mother Earth.
The poet G.Mend-Ooyo and the artist D.Battümör have developed an exhibition the written word, "Mother Earth" which directly addresses this theme. Their visual and poetic artworks express a unitedattitude towards the preservation of the earth and the natural world.

Another aspect of this exhibition is that, in addition to looking into the future, and by seeing in a clearer way the rich and valuable heritage which humans have chosen to abandon throughout their history, we can think about the importance and value of such things today.

"Mother Earth" will include calligraphic versions of some eighty of Mend-Ooyo's poems.
G.Mend-Ooyo's poetic work is joined with imags in brush and ink of the artist D.Battümör, revealing the new sensibilities of calligraphic and figurative art. The exhibition will also present the new traditions of Mongol calligraphy and language art.
The artistic work which comes from our heart are the plants of wisdom growing in our Mother Earth. People step upon the earth, they drink water and take nutrients from Mother earth through the plants, and so take in the riches. The two artists say that, with the work in this exhibition, they contribute the light of their hearts, they repay the kindness of Mother Earth.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS FOR THE EXHIBITION "MOTHER EARTH"
March 18 2011 11:40 Opening of the exhibition "Mother Earth".
March 18-24 2011 9:00-17:00 Exhibition open to the public.
March 19 2011 15:30 Poetry reading
March 21 2011 15:30 Launch of the book I Am Coming to You, which presents this poem of Mend-Ooyo's in thirty languages.

MOTHER EARTH exhibition

An Exhibition of Calligraphy
March 18-23, 2011
Mongolian National Modern Art Gallery
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia


On March 18th, the exhibition "Mother Earth" will open at the Mongolian National Modern Art gallery. Thirty years ago, the poet G.Mend-Ooyo wrote a poem called "Mother Earth," for which the composer R.Enhbazar wrote music. Performed by the snger B.Badaruugan, this work connected with people's hearts, expressing the meaning of taking care of Mother earth.
In this exhibition, G.Mend-Ooyo and the artist D.Battümör combine their work, and ask us to care for nature, our Mother Earth, through poetry and image. It has become a tradition that, every year works are exhibited from the collection of the Mongolian Academy of Culture and Poetry and thus year, apart from Mend-Ooyo's own pieces, there are also pieces, based upon Mend-Ooyo's poems, by the influential contemporary artist D.Battümör, in addition to some eighty of Mend-Ooyo's calligraphic manuscripts.
In addition to looking into the future, we are also drawn to consider the valuable objets of wisdom in the history of humanity, its lost cultural heritage, and the importance of acknowledgeing its value.
In this exhibition we will see how Mend-Ooyo's poetry, combined with Battümör's talent for calligraphic ink and brushwork, reveals a new direction for the art of images and words, and a contemporary approach to calligraphy and the tradition of Mongol language arts.
The artistic work which comes from our heart are the plants of wisdom growing in our Mother Earth. People step upon the earth, they drink water and take nutrients from Mother Earth through the plants, and so take in the riches. The two artists say that, with the work in this exhibition, they contribute the light of their hearts, they repay the kindness of Mother Earth.

МОНГОЛЫН УРАН ЗОХИОЛЫН ЦАХИМ НОМЫН САН УДАХГҮЙ НЭЭГДЭНЭ

Цахим ертөнц өнөөдөр дэлхий дахины соёлын хэрэглээг бүрнээ тодорхойлж, XXI зууны зохиолч уншигчийг холбох хядгааргүй боломжийг бидэнд олгож буй билээ.
Соёл Яруу Найргийн Монголын Академи үндэснийхээ утга зохиол, оюун соёлын үнэт зүйлсийг улам өргөн цар хүрээтэй түгээн дэлгэрүүлэх зорилгоор www.muzo.mn цахим номын санг байгуулж, ирэх Дэлхийн яруу найргийн өдрөөр нээлтээ хийхээр ажиллаж байгаа аж.
Энэхүү цахим номын сан нь монголын эртний болон орчин үеийн яруу найраг, хүүрнэл зохиол, шүүмж судлал, хүүхдийн уран зохиол, орчуулгын шилдэг бүтээл зэрэг төрөл зүйлийг багтаасан хязгааргүй хуудастай томоохон номын сан байх бөгөөд монголын эрт эдүгээгийн бүтээлтэй нэгэн дороос хамгийн шуурхай танилцах орон зай ба хурдыг уншигчдад олгож буйгаараа онцлог юм.
Энэхүү цахим номын сан нь англи, монгол хоёр хэл дээр ашиглах боломжтой бөгөөд манай дэлхийн өнцөг булан бүрд зочлон очиж уншигчидтайгаа уулзаж, уран бүтээлээ толилуулах боломжийг олгох энэхүү төслийг Соросын Сангийн соёл урлагийн бүсийн хөтөлбөр, Монголын Урлагийн зөвлөл дэмжиж байгаа ажээ. .
Шинэ эриний хурд хийгээд боломж улам бүр өсөн нэмэгдсээр байгаа эдүгээ цаг үетэйгээ хөл нийлүүлэн алхаж, мэдээллийн зууны уншигч олондоо уран бүтээлээ хүргэхийн тулд эрч хүчтэй ажиллах шинэ боломжийг Монголын зохиолчдоо олгож байгаа нь монголын соёлын амьдралын нэгэн содон мэдээ болж байна.