Sabit Mukanov (1900 – 1973) was a classic of Kazakh literature, academic writer, public figure, chairman, deputy of the Supreme Council of the Kazakh SSR of 5 convocations.
Prize winner of the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh SSR named after Ch.Ch. Valikhanov (1966), State Prize of the Kazakh SSR named after Abay (1968). He was awarded two Orders of Lenin and two Orders of the Red Banner of Labor, the Order of the Badge of Honor and medals. Sabit Mukanov is one of the few writers who have worked in all genres of literature. He began his creative career with poetry. The first collections of poems were published in 1922. He owns such poetic works as Konilim (Duma, 1917), Bostandyk (Freedom, 1919), Zhymashtyk olimі (Death of Zhumash), Album, Balbope, Ayuyu (Polar Bear), Zhyparkhan. The most popular was his poem Sulushash (1928). He also wrote the lyrics of the song Kazakh Waltz written in 1940, composer Latif Hamidi. In the late 1920s, the writer defined himself as a prose writer and playwright.
One of the first prose works was the novel Lost Ones (Adasandar, in the Russian translation Son of Bai), on which he worked on during 1927–1928 (the novel was also published in Russian in 1931 under the name Bright Love). He is also the author of the following novels: Temirtas (1935), Syr Darya (1948), Botagoz (1957) (also the film of the same name Botagoz of 1958 was created based on this novel), an autobiographical the romance trilogy School of Life (1945-1962), the novel about Chokan Valikhanov A Flashed Meteor (1972). He is also the author of the following plays: Chokan Valikhanov, Saken Seyfullin, Girl from Kashgar and many others. In 1974, the posthumous publication of his ethnographic work, the Folk Heritage, was published, which explores ancient folk traditions, the economy and life of pre-revolutionary Kazakhs, their material and spiritual culture.
The writer’s works are constantly reprinted; his books have been translated into many languages of the peoples of the world. The name of Sabit Mukanov, as an outstanding writer and public figure, was included in the International Encyclopedia Who is Who (1969), published annually in the United States. His works found their place in the Library of Congress (Washington) and National Library of Australia (Canberra). In 2018, the book Letter of Sabit Mukanov was published, which included letters and correspondence of the writer from 1924-1973. A bust monument to the writer and poet Sabit Mukanov was unveiled in 2000 (to the centenary of the writer) as part of the anniversary events under the auspices of UNESCO.