Armenian Poetry

[Guest]

Scanned images provided by MJ.

 

Hovhannes Tumanyan - Akhtamar

Hovhannes Tumanyan - Loreci Saqon

Hovhannes Tumanyan - Parodia

 

Hovhannes Tumanyan - Tmbkaberdi Arum@

 

Hovhannes Tumanyan - Ktak

 

Hovhannes Tumanyan - Hayots Visht@

Hovhannes Tumanyan - Qaryakner

 

Hovhannes Tumanyan - Maro

 

 

[This message has been edited by Garo (edited October 01, 2000).]

[Guest]

Vay Garo jan, es inch lav ban es arel. Yes el bavakanin tvov scan arats banasteghtsutyunner unem - avelatsnenq?

[Guest]

Thank you MJ and Garo!

This is excellent idea to have poetry site in this server.

 

[This message has been edited by Ararat (edited November 27, 2000).]

[Guest]

Sulamita jan avelacnenq, indzanci inch vor kaxvaca yes kanem. Karcem arajin@ du es et poetry teman sksel, yes el xostaca poetry section sarqem u etenc el minchev hima mnuma odic kaxvac

Bayc de vochinch, ush lini nush lini.

 

Ararat jan I'll do it with categorized links. But let's have enough scans then think about it. Actually I was thinking to put the poems in text format, not as pictures. That's the main reason this section is not ready.

[Guest]

Exactly!

 

 

[This message has been edited by Ararat (edited November 27, 2000).]

[Guest]

Garo jan Bavakanin lav skizb e .

Teri masin mi mtatsy / yete iharki tsankutyun ka kareli a amen inch el anel / kavelatsnek havelyal ter yete jamanaki @edatskum karik lini. sakayn karevor@ sa e te vorkanov en martik haskanalu yev vorkanov en ssa harkavor HAyerin / yete gone mek Hye el ogtakar lini da achkis vra kanenk /

 

Mj shnorhakalutyun arajarki hamar BArekam , menk "Armenians.com" inkners dzri web Pag enk arajarkum Hyerin chem kartsum Yahoo gnalu karik unenk .

Xosk@ verabervum e Aveli Ratsyonal web pagi/space ogtagortsman masin . Nayev jamanaki vor@ k@tevi iyd n@karner@ d-lod anelu hamar.

GArapar@ BAvakanin Lav e, yete inchvor mi ban indzanist kaxvats e yes PAtrats em Misht Patrast

Hajorutyun

[Guest]

The only concern I have is that the OCR software is not very accurate (at least the one by Hewlett-Packard, I used to use for English texts). They do so many mistakes, while converting that requires spending as much time on fixing the mistakes, as it would've required to just type them over.

[Guest]

It seems Hewlett-Packard's software is not good enough. Try ABBYY's FineReader (it's a russian company). They have one of the best OCR software. I've scanned whole books in russian and english and haven't had any serious problems.

[Guest]

Thanks. Will look for it.

[Guest]

That's right. Imagine how many megs it'll be if I put long poems. The best solution here is the text files.

[Guest]

Garo,

 

As a temporary solution, why not to use the free Web sites provided by Yahoo, etc., and use hyperlinks here, which will take the interested reader to the appropriate pages.

[Guest]

I'll add new links to poems editing my first post. So all the poem links will be in the first post.

[Guest]

The following material is being posted with the special permission of ANN/Groong Administration. I am told that Eddie Arnavoudian posts similar materials through ANN/Groong on a monthly basis. I am not sure that we can post them here every month, but we have been encouraged to periodically visit their site at www.groong.com/news.

 

I will post "Maro" today or tomorrow.

 

MJ

 

*******************************************************************

Redistribution of Groong articles, such as this one, to any other

media, including but not limited to other mailing lists and Usenet

bulletin boards, is strictly prohibited without prior written

consent from Groong's Administrator.

 

© Copyright 2000 Armenian News Network/Groong. All Rights Reserved.

*******************************************************************

 

 

Worth a read

 

Neither masterpiece nor particularly outstanding, yet

none will bore the lover of literature.

Reading them, one will always find something of value...

 

 

Armenian News Network / Groong

September 25, 2000

 

By Eddie Arnavoudian

 

 

1.

 

Hovanness Toumanian and the drama of abused womanhood

 

Hovanness Toumanian was an outstanding poet and the best of his work

deserves a privileged position on the shelves of any lover of

literature. Yet his position in Armenian literary criticism is not

secure. There are those who dismiss him as little more than a

provincial troubadour, claiming he merely regurgitated folklore which,

despite its Armenian colour, does not scale the heights of real

poetry. This utterly erroneous view has taken root and grown ever

since Hagop Oshagan's critical remarks in the 1930s and is now the

fashion among certain 'modernist' critics, especially in Europe.

 

However, to appreciate Toumanian's greatness, leave his critics to the

side and read 'Maro', a short poem of no more than six pages. Here

Toumanian depicts a profound and universal human experience in a

uniquely Armenian national form. An aspect of Toumanian's greatness

indeed rests in this ability to capture a universal human quality in

its national form. 'Maro' is a veritable drama, a human tragedy

presented in the starkest and simplest possible terms. It is the drama

simultaneously of womanhood and humanity. It retells the story of nine

year old Maro forced into an arranged marriage. The bitterness of

this experience is portrayed with remarkable depth and feeling. When

Maro, fleeing her newly wed home, returns to her mother crying 'Mum, I

don't want to be a woman' we hear, in all its simplicity and

intensity, the cry of abused womanhood across centuries and across

nations.

 

But we hear more than this. We also hear Maro's cry to be free.

Toumanian movingly contrasts Maro's experience of enslaved 'womanhood'

with that of the free spirit of childhood that she hitherto enjoyed.

Maro wants to remain a child, for as a child was allowed to be herself,

to live freely, to imagine and to realise herself. But as a woman she

knows that she has become no more than an object for someone else. Her

flight from her forced marriage is her demand that she be treated as

an end in herself. However Maro pays the price for trying to be free

of the shackles of repressive social arrangements. She is first

ostracised then driven to her death.

 

Maro's fate is not just an individual's tragedy. It is addditionally a

terrible social drama involving a community of human beings who all

appear to be governed by forces beyond their control, by forces which

compel them to act against their humane and loving nature. Maro's

family love her and have brought her up with all the care and

tenderness they could muster. Yet in her hour of need they too turn

their backs on her. Yet they are not heartless. They are trapped. They

too lack the freedom to override social regulation and take their

evidently distressed daughter back into the home. Instead they cast

her out into the wilderness.

 

When Maro is found dead, her family's grief has no measure. Yet

despite the love of her parents and despite their grief, she cannot be

given a decent burial. She is 'thrown into a hole' as Christian

punishment for her apparent suicide. Nevertheless beneath the crust of

social convention that dictates such inhuman behaviour, a genuine

humanity remains alive. Toumanian's evocation of the pain of the

family experience and his description of the mother's pleas and

prayers at Maro's graveside are in this respect heartrending and

inspiring.

 

That so much feeling, so profound an experience is evoked in so few

pages is testimony to Toumanian's achievement. His art lies not just

in the simplicity of the language but in the simplicity of the

conception and structure. The poem treats only of essentials and

brings these to the fore by means of the flow of rhythm and the colour

and crispness of image and description. By these means it also

captures a dimension of human experience that transcends not just that

of women abused, but incorporate that of humanity abused.

 

To condemn Toumanian as no more than a provincial troubadour is a

staggering demonstration of aesthetic incompetence, besides being an

insult to the venerable troubador. Every one of Toumanian's numerous

successful poems, including those written as children's tales, are

alive with a meaning and a passion for life.

 

 

2.

 

Krikor Zohrab - a talent that was not to touch the highest peak

 

Krikor Zohrab is regarded as 'the prince of the Armenian short story',

comparable, some say, with Maupassant or Chekhov. Such judgements are

wide of the mark. In any Armenian canon, he would occupy a station

beneath Yeroukhan, Zorian or Bakountz, who, unlike Zohrab, have left a

substantial volume of work that would hold their own in time to come.

Yet this is not to dismiss Zohrab out of hand. His stories, by virtue

of their technical excellence, retain a certain colour and freshness

that can make for entertaining reading.

 

Zohrab was a perceptive observer and a witty raconteur. Few have

equalled his technical writing skills. Deploying words to full effect

he can offer remarkable descriptions of a scene, a person, a mood, a

feeling, a sentiment or an emotion. His graceful language aided by an

acute percepton gives his stories a vivacity that entertains and even

captivates. Yet the effect is only fleeting, lacking deep impact or

lasting impression. They fail to evince from the reader that cry of

'Yes, I see!' which truly great short stories do.

 

However not all his work is of the same order. Among his short stories

are a few excellent ones that will endure translation. 'Hagopig' for

example is a powerful, witty, yet disturbing portrait of the dead soul

in a living man; of a once vibrant and joyous person who has lost the

zest for life and now merely 'occupies himself with dying'. Zohrab

does not lack the ability to capture aspects of individual or social

experience, or features of the human psyche with some degree of depth.

But this he does rarely. His stories are limited by their narrow scope

and his naturalism whilst creating vivid images describes no wider or

deeper context that would confer on them a broader universal

significance.

 

'Laughter' is, as the cliché goes, a 'well-crafted' story. But it

captures only the immediate image of an unbalanced mind and heart. But

the image has no context that would truly highlight the essential

human drama behind it. In this respect, the human experience described

remains mute and not fully comprehensible. 'Zmraghda', the story of a

rich playboy seducing a poor girl is standard fare, though with Zohrab

its telling is again accomplished. Yet it suffers a profound

inauthenticity when explaining her choice to opt for a young butcher's

apprentice instead of the rich playboy. Zmraghda manages a speech so

articulate and structured that one would think this illiterate young

girl had attended oratory classes in Classical Greece. The impact of

the story is thus lost. 'The Head Nurse' confirms the case of a talent

that was misled by the false charms of French naturalism. Seeking

revenge against men when abandoned by her lover, a young woman becomes

a hospital nurse in order to delight in the suffering men endure on

the operating table. The twist in depicting the abuse of women has

novelty and a certain shocking quality, but in the depiction of the

nurse's thirst for revenge, there is an absence of that complexity and

contradiction that characterises all genuinely profound and

passionate human emotions.

 

Zohrab's stories that have a national or community axis are in many

respects more satisfying to read today. 'The Day After the Dance' for

example, is a memorable account of a young provincial teacher and

aspiring poet being led astray by the decadent, hedonistic attractions

of Bolis life. 'Megha Der' is a marvellous little sketch of a merchant

robbing wealth that was bequeathed to the nation. The best of these

stories comment on some human frailty or flaw, while colourfully

recording aspects of Armenian social life at the end of the 19th and

opening of the 20th centuries.

 

Any volume of Zohrab's short stories will entertain, inform and will

also afford moments, albeit brief, of genuine and profound

insight. Those who are striving to learn, improve or re-master

Armenian have especially good reason to read him. His writing combines

utmost simplicity of style with great versatility of expression.

 

*

 

Besides Armenian editions of Krikor Zohrab's works which are easily

available, English speakers can obtain 'Zohrab', selected and

translated by Ara Baliozian, 1985. A valuable volume, it contains a

selection of five stories, 'random thoughts' from Zohrab and

reminiscences and tributes from prominent Armenian literary critics

and writers. It is available at Narek.com.

 

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Eddie Arnavoudian holds degrees in history and politics from

Manchester, England, and is Groong's commentator-in-residence on

Armenian literature. His works on literary and political issues

have also appeared in Harach in Paris, Nairi in Beirut and Open

Letter in Los Angeles.

 

 

 

 

[This message has been edited by MJ (edited September 28, 2000).]

[Guest]

I think, the discussion of the poem "Maro" separately is wrong, because this will not give the full picture of the Armenian society of those times. It must be discuused together with Tumanyan's "Gikor". I would rather call it "Tumanyan and the drama of abused childhood" and not only "womanhood".

[Guest]

Berj,

 

I will gladly scan the "Gikor," too, if Garo doesn't mind due to space considerations.

 

So that you don't get me wrong, the point I wanted to make here was that I think for a girl to get married even at the age of 18-19 is to early, in my view. I will feel sorry for these girls - they are still kids, don't make wives out of them...

 

 

P.S. I found that the story is 2O pages long. How about it, Garo?

 

[This message has been edited by MJ (edited September 28, 2000).]

[Guest]

MJ,

 

I think we're aware of the fact that not only girls but also the boys in Armenian families of those times, especially in the rural areas, where subject to abuse by their parents, and not only in the case of marrige. And the reason for that was poverty. This was also presnt in Europe of 19-th century. So Armenia was not an exception.

 

Speaking of teenage marriges: what can a 18-19 girl from an Armenian village do if she's not cut out for studing and career making. Suppose she's a good-looking, family oriented (by free will) girl, a good cook and everything. So are we going to tell her:"You haven't seen this world, there's lot of fun outside, go get it, then decide what you want". Maybe this marrige is really what she wants.

[Guest]

MJ you can scan it and send to me.

I need to put trackers on this poems pages to see how many people read them.

[Guest]

Dear Berj,

 

Of course you personally are aware, but I think some people in the forum have not had the chance to get systematic education in Armenian political, social and economical history, or in literature.

 

I am not trying to make a special point, but rather I want to provide an objective picture of Armenia and its diversity. I have chosen Tumanyan for few reasons. First, his four volumes are currently available to me, after donating several hundred books or better to say my entire Armenian library to the libraries of UCLA and the University of Michigan. Second, he is the most Armenian of all Armenian poets/writers, in not being influenced by Western literature and trends of his time – so nobody can claim that he was some kind of immoral cosmopolitan His patriotism and morals are not challenged, and I thing the longest trip he has taken in his life, has been to Tiflis – less than 40 miles away. Third, I wanted to provide a picture of pre-Soviet Armenia, so that to dissipate the opinion that certain things in Armenian society are resulted from the Soviet lifestyle and regime. Fourth, to make a point that Armenia has been in much worse shape before 1918, but it has recovered, and I believe it will recover again.

 

As far as your other points on the 18-19 years old girls are concerned, I have a couple of comments, only. First of all, I think we are not talking only about the girls from villages, but also from cities, but more importantly the men who marry them. You are raising a question on what to do if she, by her free will, decides to marry. As you know, I am the last person to try to tell somebody else what to do with his/her personal life, but I think under the existing circumstances it is ridiculous to talk about “her free will,” due to absence of choices for her. In most of the cases she knows that she would rather marry now, otherwise later on nobody will marry her. But you know that when these marriages happen, in most of the cases they are not by their “free will,” nor due to poverty, but by the pressure of the parents and the older brothers, so that their “honor” doesn’t get tainted.

 

Now for the other side of the fence, I have to say that it will be an incorrect impression to think that this is indeed descriptive of the entire Armenian society. In my view there is no such thing as “Armenians are this way or the other way.” Armenians, Armenia, and the Armenian culture are very diverse. You can witness anything you can imagine in the wide spectrum of Armenian reality. And I have to say – Thank God!

 

I agree with your comments regarding the poverty. I thing that a lot of problems of today are also due to poverty. This is why we witness the negative effects in Armenia, or at the Glendale High School. This is why, I think, according to eyewitness accounts in this forum, our young men pace aimlessly in the streets of Los Angeles County, or “ppzum pateri tak” in Yerevan. I can go on and on... But the poverty itself has reasons, right? First of all, I think poverty is a mentality, then it becomes a social disaster as a result of this mentality.

 

I would’ve been happy to post poetry from Issahakyan, Sevak, Charents, Siamanto, Teryan, Durian - you name it. Unfortunately, I don’t have them in my possession. Most I can do is Tumanyan, Narekatsi and Kuchak. If you, and other members of the forum, who are located in Armenia, due to your access to the libraries can scan and post other materials widening the scope of what has already been posted, I personally would be very appreciative. For example, I remember in late 70’s there was a two volume publication called “Margaritner Hye Knarergutian” – “Pearls of Armenian Poetry.” I think that anthology would’ve been a great source. But clearly this is not the only one.

 

P.S. Will try to scan "Gikor," today.

P.P.S. And why do we always accentuate on cooking, when talking about Armenian women. You know, this staement itself sounds to me somewhat outplaced.

 

[This message has been edited by MJ (edited September 29, 2000).]

[Guest]

Today I received a book by G. Libaridian called The Challenge of Statehood. As a bonus book I also got another book, a collection of poetry by Paruir Sevak. If interested, you may place an order at www.narek.com.

 

[This message has been edited by MJ (edited September 29, 2000).]

[Guest]

Berj,

 

Agreed. Let's then give every Armenian - a man or a woman- the right to be "like this or like that" as he/she chooses

 

I will check whether I have in my possession "Hayots Visht@." I think, I should.

[Guest]

New poems has been added:

 

Hovhannes Tumanyan - Hayots Visht@

Hovhannes Tumanyan - Qaryakner

 

First post contains all the links to poems.

[Guest]

Dear MJ,

 

In my previous posting, by "we" I just ment me and you and not all the forum members. Sorry, I will try to be more specific.

Yes, Armenia is diverse despite of its 29.000 sq/kms. And putting dogmas is ridiculous. The thing is that, Armenia has been "like this" for a long time. Now there is a trend to become "like that". And following our "extremist mentality" we will face the danger of becoming completely "like that". I will give you an example being sure that you'll understand what I meen by that. I have been to Delhi not long ago. Ordinary people there don't have problems with urinating right on the street corners, except for the center of the city and some high class residental areas. When I saw it I thought "Armenia is deffinitely in the center of Europe". But than I thought, that, in reality, they (the urinators) are not "passing anybody's personal space by this" on the contrary, they are enriching their county's soil with usefull minerals. It's just that I myself (as an Eastern European) am prejudiced about it. Don't get me wrong, I am still strongly prejudiced about it. But this is what happened after that. I came back to Yerevan an once during a dinner with a German from our office, the guy belched 3-4 times with an inexorable expression of satisfaction on his face. Well, sure I smiled at his face, but I thought: "...and this is the guy who is lecturing me all day long about Europe and bright future".

So, maybe we the Armenians should not be neither "like this" nor "like that", maybe we should be LIKE NOBODY ELSE, in marrige cases also.

 

P.S. MJ, I've got all the poets at home but I can't post them due to technical reasons. Have you got Tumanyan's "Hayoc visht@", that's my favorite.

 

P.S.S. OK, OK, Armenian women are bad cooks if it sounds logic.

[Guest]

Dear MJ ,

 

Let's first set favourable conditions for that choice. In case of Armenia I meen.

 

P.S. Thank you and Garo for "Hayoc Visht@".

[Guest]

Dear Berj,

 

Please be more specific. I don't follow what you mean.

[Guest]

I find the first one of the posted Qariakner is an incredible manifestation of the greatness of Armenian language. I have always thought of Tumanyan as a provincial singer, but I think this Qariak demonstrates that he could’ve written as subtle poetry as anybody else, but just chose to primarily write in a “provincial” manner, so that to really reflect the colors of Armenia of his time.