Host and Guest. Download options.
host and guest vazha-pshavela poetry georgian kartuli downloadable download options
A new translation of his Classic 19th Century Georgian poem Host and Guest. Download options.
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Vazha-Pshavela, the pen name of Luka Razikashvili, was a Georgian poet and writer born on 14 June 1861 in Chargali, Eastern Georgia. He hailed from a clerical family in the Pshavi region. Vazha-Pshavela completed his education at the Pedagogical Seminary in Gori in 1882 and briefly attended St. Petersburg University's Law faculty in 1883 as a non-credit student. Financial difficulties forced him to return to Georgia in 1884, where he worked as a Georgian language teacher.

He began his literary career in the mid-1880s, producing a significant body of work that includes 36 epics, around 400 poems, plays, stories, literary criticism, journalism, and ethnographic articles. His works, deeply rooted in Georgian upland life and mythology, often explore the interactions between individuals, society, and nature, alongside themes of freedom and human dignity.

Key works include "Aluda Ketelauri" and "Guest and Host", exploring the conflict between individual beliefs and societal norms. His epic "Snake-Eater" deals with the struggle of balancing personal ideals with societal and familial expectations. "Bakhtrioni" recounts the Georgians role in the 1659 uprising against Iranian rule.

Vazha-Pshavela's depictions of nature are notable for their dynamism and conflict, and his use of the Georgian language is both rich and precise. His works have been translated into over 20 languages, including Russian, English, French, and German.

He died on 10 July 1915 in Tiflis (now Tbilisi) and was buried in the Mtatsminda Pantheon, Tbilisi, in recognition of his literary and national significance. A museum in Chargali, established in 1961, commemorates his life and work.