Mend-Ooyo Gombojav
| Mend-Ooyo Gombojav | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1952 Dariganga, Sükhbaatar, Mongolia |
| Occupation | novelist, short story writer, poet, calligraphist |
| Language | Mongolian |
| Nationality | Mongolian |
| Alma mater | University of Arts and Culture (MA, 1996) Mongolian Educational University (1974-1978) Pedagogical College (1970) |
| Genres | novel, short story, children's story |
| Literary movement | Gal GUNU |
| Notable works | Altan Ovoo (Golden Hill) Gegeenten |
| Notable awards | Altan Ud Award, Mongolia's Writer of the Year (2012) Anniversary Medal 800th Anniversary of the Great Mongolian Empire (2006) Altan Ud Award, Mongolia's Writer of the Year (2001) Mongolia's Best Man of the Year (2001) Award of the Mongolian Writers' Union (1999) Distinguished Cultural Figure of Mongolia by Presidential Decree (1996) |
| Years active | 1985–present |
| Website | |
| Mend-Ooyo.mn | |
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Mend-Ooyo Gombojav is a Mongolian writer, poet and calligraphist. He was born into a herder's family in Dariganga, Sükhbaatar, Mongolia, in 1952. Mend-Ooyo lives in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, and directs the Mongolian Academy of Culture and Poetry.
Mend-Ooyo is quoted saying: "My life is the mirror of Mongolia. I grew up in the classic nomadic way of life, then moved to the city. But even after all these years I am not a city person. All my dreams are about the countryside, and I feel like I am living in a birdcage. Now I am planning to move back to the countryside. I just hope Mongolia will too."
He started his career in 1970, as an elementary school teacher in the border village of Zamiin Uud, Dornogovi aimag, in the far south east of Mongolia. For ten years, from 1978, he was the editor-in-chief for the arts and cultural programmes on Mongolian State radio and television, In 1988 he became a professional writer with the Mongolian Writer's Union.
After the 1990 Democratic Revolution in Mongolia, Mend-Ooyo became the Chief Project Lead and driving force behind the reconstruction of the Migjid Janraisig complex at Gandantegchinlen Monastery in Ulaanbaatar. At that time he was also a member of the Mongolian National Committee of UNESCO, and, successively, executive director, vice-president and president of the Mongolian Cultural Foundation. From 1998-2000 he sat as Chairman of the governmental Culture and Arts Agency.
In 2002 he became Life member of the World Academy of Arts and Culture. In 2004 he joined the board of the Mongolian Art Council. In 2005 he founded the Mongolian culture, literature and poetry magazine GUNU, for which he also acted as the editor-in-chief. In that same year he became president of the Mongolian Academy of Culture and Poetry.
In 1996, Mend-Ooyo earned a Master's degree at the University of Arts and Culture in Mongolia. In 2002, he was granted a Doctorate of Literature by the World Academy of Arts and Culture. In 2008, he became professor of Arts and Culture at the Institute of International Studies of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences.
Mend-Ooyo started writing poems at the age of thirteen. In an interview for the WSJ he explains he became interested in writing, thanks in part to Dorjiin Gombojav. D.Gombojav was a controversial poet and translator who had alienated officials in Ulaanbaatar. He was sent, as punishment, to teach at the remote rural school Mend-Ooyo attended. Mend-Ooyo related to the interviewer that he wrote his first lines of poetry under D.Gombojav’s guidance. "He taught me the importance of Mongolian language and our traditions," he says.
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