Esma
Mania

AKAKI TSERETELI

Akaki Tsereteli is unquestionably Georgia’s most beloved poet of the people. Indeed, he is known and loved more deeply than any other poet in the country. This extraordinary popularity stems from both his character and deep regard for his people, and, most importantly, from the uniqueness of his work. Tsereteli was a poet who was open, honest, simple, compassionate, and occasionally self-deprecating; who never shone the spotlight on himself; who used poetic forms that were popular and easy to understand; who creatively understood what people were saying; who skillfully adapted metaphors and idioms to fit the context; and who ruthlessly exposed political and social vices and human weaknesses through his creations. Tsereteli’s inexplicably profound compassion for the misery of his fellow citizens succeeded in piquing not only the interest of his contemporary society, but that of future generations too.