Turkmenistani
First Language(s): Russian, Turkmen, Uzbek
Second Language(s):
English
Madina Tuhbatullina is a poet from Turkmenistan, whose work has been published or is forthcoming in New American Writing, Spoon River Poetry Review, Tar River Poetry and elsewhere. Her poetry collection Tender Knots was named a finalist for the Black Lawrence Press Immigrant Writing Series. Madina is a Creative Writing MFA candidate at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
What was your favorite book as a child?
L. Frank Baum ‘s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz translated into Russian by Alexander Volkov.
I was looking for something to read at home and found an autobiography of Sergei Yesenin, which was not too much fun for my age. My parents saw me reading it, panicked that they didn’t have enough children’s books, and bought me a very colorful edition of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
Do you remember the original reason or motivation why you started writing creatively?
I competed in English Language Olympiads most of my childhood. The competitions usually involved writing essays in English. So I started practicing creative writing unintentionally, while I was practicing English.
What was the most adventurous or thrilling thing you ever did/experienced?
I lived in upstate New York for about a year as an exchange student when I was only sixteen. Not having been away from my family before then, this was an extreme learning curve. I had had so many new and thrilling experiences that changed me in a variety of ways. I had found a new confidence, many new friends, and a taste for lasagna.
Do you listen to music while reading or writing?
I have tried listening to music while writing, usually classical music. However, I found that I become so emotionally invested in the chord progressions that I cannot focus on writing. I write in complete silence.
Poetry
Knot
Issue Spring '25
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