Future Of Armenian Literature ?

[Sassun]

I was reading this section of the forum and the Armenian poems in it , and it was a bit depressing , because every time I came across a word I did not know , i thought about the question of what will be the future of Armenian literature ? I mean, not the ones that have already been written , but the future as in , will there be Armenian poets ???? are there any new Armenian poets ? Are there people who understand all these words and what is more , actually can write poems of this sort ??? like the ones by Derian , Toorian , Medzarents etc. ?

 

Anyone ? Someone tell me that there are poets and writers of this sort ??? Or at least if not equal in terms of their genius to our great writers and poets , then at least coming close to them ????

[Armenak]

This is a start, I suppose: http://groong.usc.edu/tlg/index.html

[Sassun]

Armenak

Are those translated works or originally written in English ?

 

Cos I meant Armenian poets/writers writing in Armenian. Writing in English is not really what concerns me , but in Armenian .

[RemainFaithful]

Then of course, there's this blog: Armenian Poetry Project.

[Sassun]

Thanks a lot !! RemainFaithful , that is interesting . i read some of the more recent stuff on there but i must say i am not too impressed . not that it is up to me to judge their work of course , but i guess i am more into the 'old style' of poetry and not into this new style of 'whatever you write down , you can call it art ' .... (which is the case these days in english language also ) . for me , the new English poets are in most cases nowhere close to the poetry of Keats and other great English poets. i hope you got my point ... and this is what depresses me , because it seems we are out of the phase of our literary greats/geniuses...

[vartahoor]

Are there people who understand all these words and what is more , actually can write poems of this sort ??? like the ones by Derian , Toorian , Medzarents etc. ?

Anyone ? Someone tell me that there are poets and writers of this sort ??? Or at least if not equal in terms of their genius to our great writers and poets , then at least coming close to them ????

To be pragmatic I should say that Parooyr Sevak was the last poet we had, after PS nobody has come close to him yet, and probably will not appear on the horizon for a long time, In RA nowadays not too much attention is paid to the language or literature, the media promotes poets like "Armen Shekoyan" whose language is below any acceptable standard, in other words they are promoting mediocrity or I should say less than mediocrity.

Some may take offense with the above statement, but the truth should be told.

In diaspora you actually have had no worthwhile individual who has contributed anything of substance. What appears on Groong under "Armenian Literature" is not armenian. Groong instead of promoting Armenian literature is downgrading it by having the garbage that appears as armenian literature..

The only thing that we can do is to hope for the best.

Vartahoor

Edited June 9, 2007 by vartahoor

[Sassun]

To be pragmatic I should say that Parooyr Sevak was the last poet we had, after PS nobody has come close to him yet, and probably will not appear on the horizon for a long time, In RA nowadays not too much attention is paid to the language or literature, the media promotes poets like "Armen Shekoyan" whose language is below any acceptable standard, in other words they are promoting mediocrity or I should say less than mediocrity.

Some may take offense with the above statement, but the truth should be told.

In diaspora you actually have had no worthwhile individual who has contributed anything of substance. What appears on Groong under "Armenian Literature" is not armenian. Groong instead of promoting Armenian literature is downgrading it by having the garbage that appears as armenian literature..

The only thing that we can do is to hope for the best.

Vartahoor

Yeah this is exactly what I was trying to say about the language !

 

I think we should be doing more than just hoping for the best. Maybe trying to focus more on the Armenian language and writing skills in schools , etc. ? I would understand why in the diaspora it would be more difficult but I do not see why it would not be doable in R. A ? It's really sad ... makes me wish i had the skills myself , to preserve the continuity in our literature ...

[nairi]

In diaspora you actually have had no worthwhile individual who has contributed anything of substance.

 

Do you mean in general, or only today? I quite like Shushan Avagyan, who writes in two languages. She also regularly translates obscure poems from Armenian into English. I think she's currently working on Shushanik Kurghinian, an early 20th century (feminist) poet, who has been ignored long enough.

 

Also, are you talking about poetry alone or also other forms, like prose and plays?

 

I do agree that much of the contemporary stuff on Armenian Poetry Project and Groong is nothing more than junk. But once in a while something not so bad comes up.

 

The trouble is that genocide obsession in the diaspora and KGB-influenced prohibition in the homeland have stopped us from developing art movements. The last movement we had died with the Stalinistic purges. The one before died at the hands of the Young Turks. We have not come up with anything worthy since. In the diaspora we write about how much we are suffering from genocide denial (or in fewer cases: how we are suffering from living between two worlds), and in the homeland we write about how beautiful mount Ararat and the flowers of Meghri are.

 

I'm still waiting for Gohar Markosian's Penelope Takes a Bath to be translated into Armenian and English (orginal language is Russian). Apparently she has written more that I'm not aware of. I'd like to see them translated as well.

[Shahan Araradian]

...and in the homeland we write about how beautiful mount Ararat and the flowers of Meghri are....

LOL. So true...

[nyc_potter]

I do agree that much of the contemporary stuff on Armenian Poetry Project and Groong is nothing more than junk. But once in a while something not so bad comes up.

 

I am sorry to read that you don't like contemporary Armenian poetry. I run the Armenian Poetry Project and posts reflect what is available out there. If anyone can write and do better, please be my guest.

[nairi]

I am sorry to read that you don't like contemporary Armenian poetry. I run the Armenian Poetry Project and posts reflect what is available out there. If anyone can write and do better, please be my guest.

 

I never said that I did not like contemporary Armenian poetry. I clearly said that on those two particular lists (Groong and APP) once in a while something not so bad comes up. I am a particular fan and supporter of Shushan Avagyan, for instance, and I'm glad that she posts on those two lists once in a while. I did not mean to offend anyone, and if I had Shushan's abilities, I would gladly share my writings. Unfortunately, I'm more of a reader than a writer.

 

I also realize that you post whoever wants to make themselves available out there. It's just unfortunate that the great bulk of those poems have nothing of substance and are often badly written too. At least Shushan, one of the very few, has the talent to write an amazing poem even on a "cliché" theme, such as the genocide.

[nyc_potter]

I never said that I did not like contemporary Armenian poetry. I clearly said that on those two particular lists (Groong and APP) once in a while something not so bad comes up. I am a particular fan and supporter of Shushan Avagyan, for instance, and I'm glad that she posts on those two lists once in a while. I did not mean to offend anyone, and if I had Shushan's abilities, I would gladly share my writings. Unfortunately, I'm more of a reader than a writer.

 

I also realize that you post whoever wants to make themselves available out there. It's just unfortunate that the great bulk of those poems have nothing of substance and are often badly written too. At least Shushan, one of the very few, has the talent to write an amazing poem even on a "cliché" theme, such as the genocide.

 

Actually, the aesthetic decision is mine, and I like 90% of what I have posted. I have personally requested Shushan's permission to post items including her translations.

 

FYI I spend a lot of hours researching material and not just receive emails and slap things in haphazardly.

 

I believe you are missing the whole point of APP. I have written that the project includes authors from late 19th century to the present. Some are very famous, others are unknown, still others are budding writers.

 

To call most of the writers on APP or Groong junk is quite frankly offensive to the authors and shows ignorance, as many are published and read in many countries prior to the existance of APP.

 

Over ten thousand hits on the APP website and downloads of the audio clips, and tons of emails of encouragements tell me I am on the right track with this project.

 

My purpose is to show Armenians and whomever is curious that a) Armenians love poetry give a forum to new writers who have otherwise VERY FEW OPTIONS OF SHARING THEIR WORK c) share my love of poetry. Poems are about feelings and humanity but don't have to be great epics to be succesful.

 

I am also trying to encourage individuals to read new material and poems that have been forgotten, and not just the same material copy/pasted by the same 5 poets.

 

Many geographic areas where Armenians have resided are under represented in Armenian literary websites.

 

We have a large diaspora with 2 hundred years of Ashkharapar poetry; I am not a Krapar expert so I am not including that part of our literature (anyone interested please so ahead). We are also a diaspora with many languages of expression.

 

cheers from NYC

[nairi]

I'm glad APP and Groong exist. I have never said otherwise. Nor do I look down on the people who run these lists. I'm glad they are providing a platform for Armenian poets. That said, I still stand by my opinion that much of contemporary Armenian literature that I read is disappointing (I also keep up with Bnagir and Armenian House every now and then--same thing). I gave the reasons for why I believe this to be so in my first post. I am also very well aware that APP includes older poets. I have never said anything against 19th century Armenian literature until the Stalinist purges. I was merely saying that we have not had a major art movement since Stalin, unless I completely missed one (if so, please feel free to correct me). I'm sorry that you find my opinion offensive.

[nyc_potter]

I'm glad APP and Groong exist. I have never said otherwise. Nor do I look down on the people who run these lists. I'm glad they are providing a platform for Armenian poets. That said, I still stand by my opinion that much of contemporary Armenian literature that I read is disappointing (I also keep up with Bnagir and Armenian House every now and then--same thing). I gave the reasons for why I believe this to be so in my first post. I am also very well aware that APP includes older poets. I have never said anything against 19th century Armenian literature until the Stalinist purges. I was merely saying that we have not had a major art movement since Stalin, unless I completely missed one (if so, please feel free to correct me). I'm sorry that you find my opinion offensive.

 

I believe that tastes vary. In a multi-cultural society, we can encourage and accept variety. Perhaps my reaction was a little strong, considering the disapointing backlashes from vartahor.. [sp?]