[2] He was impressed by Samad Vurgun's poem "Yadıma düşdü" (I recollected) during his speech at Alexandr Pushkin's 100th anniversary celebrated in Qazakh.
During his years in college, influenced by Vurgun's writing and Ashig folk art, he wrote many poems.
His most famous work, "Turbulent Kura" (Dəli Kür), was filmed in 1969 by Azerbaijanfilm.
He was awarded with Sheref, Red Banner of Labor and Shohrat orders for his contributions to Soviet and Azerbaijani literature.
[5] On January 28, 2019, Ilham Aliyev, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed a decree on the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Ismayil Shykhly.