Kemine

Kemine (real name Mämmetweli) wrote under a pen name meaning "humble"; he grew up in a poor family and studied at a madrasa.

His poems mock the stinginess of the rich, the hypocrisy of clerics and injustice with sharp humour, and also sing of the sorrows of the poor, of love and of friendship.

Many anecdotes about his quick wit circulate among the people — he is sometimes compared to Nasreddin Hodja — and his satire helped make it a distinct genre in Turkmen literature.