Zohrab

[ara baliozian]

Zohrab: An Introduction

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

 

First of all I must extend many thanks to Mr. Stephan Zeytountsian and Mr. Ara Baliozian. These two dear friends gave me this gem of literature as a birthday present a few years ago. I’m sure many of you unfamiliar with the Armenian community may never have heard of Krikor Zohrab. To give you some background, Krikor was born in 1861 in Constantinople. He practiced law for some time prior to becoming a writer. He began as a poet but later branched out into a variety of writing genres. He is best known for his short stories. Many of his writings reflect an intimate social portrait of Armenian society. He was highly politically active and fought for the rights of his people both as a lawyer and later as a social commentator. Tragically he was murdered in 1915 during the height of the hostilities between the Armenians and the Turks.

 

As I said the collection I have was a gift, so I am not sure if the corresponding Amazon button I have below is the exact same stories or not. However I feel confident in recommending it, because Zohrab’s writing is so superb I have no doubt that it is as good as the collection I have.

 

The stories in my collection are “Deliverance”, “Infatuation”, “It Seems to me”, “The Monkey”, and “Magdalene.” What makes Zohrab’s stories so wonderful is their simplicity. They are very short and straightforward. They are written in such an effortless simplicity, but the characterizations are so endearing that their impact is memorable. A specific element of his stories that I love in particular are the endings. There is always an ironic twist that secures the finale of his tales. It is always an unexpected surprise, but it is so effective.

 

My two favorites were “Deliverance” and “Infatuation.” “Deliverance” is about a man struggling to make ends meet as a fabric peddler. I won’t give away much more because it would totally wreck the ending which brought me to tears. “Infatuation” is a quaint love story of a man gazing at a beauty as she sits beside her window sill. Not your typical infatuation as the ending will elaborate how deceiving beauty can be.

 

I want to encourage everyone to check out Zohrab’s writings. He is one of the greatest talents emerge out of Armenian literature and is someone whose stories are accessible to all tastes. If you have difficulty finding his works, please let me know and I will be happy to get a copy of his stories to you.

 

 

 

 

 

RETURN

[America-Hye]

Zohrab and his buddies are all forgetten now, even by Armenians. We have let the Turks define us as they did to Reagan as "The Turkish equivalent to the Native American in America." This whole age is forgotten by the great majority of Armenians. Our ancestors have become nobodies.

[Harut]

This whole age is forgotten by the great majority of Armenians.

apparently not in the schools in Armenia.

we spent weeks reading and analizing his stories.

[America-Hye]

Perhaps Abrahamyan can unify the Armenian experience worldwide. Growing up odar in America, my only Armenian experiences were at home or at occasional classes. It was not until study in adulthood that I even learned of my own famous ancestors. My parents were so traumatized by the Genocide experiences of their early years that they built a psychological wall to their life back in Ottoman Turkey.

[SAS]

2002 tvin Yerevanum hratarakvekl e Grigor Zohrapi steghtsagortsutyunnere 4 hatorov...

 

Aynpes vor` "Vochinch chi moracvel, voch-voq chi moracvel" :

Edited August 13, 2003 by SAS

[Slavko]

He who wins war writes history. as the Americans, as the Jews, as the Turks, as the Russians, as all other people inhabiting foriegn lands.

[Teutonic Knight]

Btw Zohrab is a Persian name.