Paper short abstract:

Meykhana is spoken word improvisation, and an example of a musical genre in the promotion of which the state and society find their common goals. This paper explores the relationship between what is offered by the government and how meykhana is practiced and perceived by ordinary people.

Paper long abstract:

The paper explores meykhana — a popular trend in Azerbaijani music and poetry. Over the past three decades the formats of meykhana performances, its content, as well as the social status of performers, have changed significantly. Because of these changes meykhana has moved from the cultural periphery to the most prestigious locations of Azerbaijan. Considering changes described above, the author explores which role in this process is played by the state activities aimed at providing society with culture. Based on the assumption that in all political regimes music is used to unite the nation, it is noted that alternative musical space is constructed via discourses aimed at constructing associations that allude to the fact that meykhana is a subject of national pride. The correlation of meykhana with folklore, an authoritative tradition of competition, as well as likening meykhana performers to classical poets, automatically affect the surge in prestige of meykhana.

The data used in this article is the result of fieldwork conducted by the author in Baku and its suburbs from April 2012 till November 2016 (10 months total). The main methods used are participant observation as well as interviews in Russian and Azerbaijani languages with representatives of the musical milieu of the capital of Azerbaijan: meykhana performers and their audience, researchers, publicists, employees of cafés in which the performances took place, and government workers who were responsible for cultural development programs in the country.