“When Aşiq Bəsti sang even the rocks would cry”: the legacy of azerbaijani Aşiq Bəsti

This study focuses on the sung poetry of Aşıq Bəsti (1836–1936), a woman master aşıq art, Azerbaijan’s musical-poetic bardic tradition. Bəsti, who was blind, not only travelled widely to perform, but also became part 19th century most renowned performance collectives. She reached status (ustad) trained apprentices, and her songs have been passed down are still performed in Azerbaijan today. The purpose this article is reveal importance Bəsti’s creative life legacy. Azerbaijani art form living oral narrative that has continuously since 16th century, yet studied global context; introduces artist translation opens path towards integrating into discussions comparative world literature. material for drawn from scholarly manuscripts archives as well interviews with aşıqs folklorists. Methods used include fieldwork, historical-contextual analysis, literary analysis close reading. results open window rural working traditional genre. discussion sets historical cultural stage then looks closely at ’s legacy, reading several poems. conclusion multifacted value both personal expression broader social movements.