PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E-mail: cathcil@cathcil.org
Web:
PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon
Armenian version:
Watch the recorded video of the message of His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos
of Cilicia here:
TH E THIRD PAN-ARMENIAN WRITERS’ CONFERENCE CONVENES ITS SESSIONS IN ANTELIAS
The second session of the Pan-Armenian Writers’ Conference was held in the
hall of the Veharan on the evening of the conference’s inauguration on April
6.
Two writers spoke on “Globalization and the modern Armenian literature.”
Karnig Ananian from Armenia presented an analytical speech on the topic,
focusing on the challenges posed by the globalization on the field of
literature and particularly Armenian literature. In this context he spoke
about the threats to national identities and the value of nations, the
“poetisation” of the concept of global citizenship and tendencies to reject
literary values and engage in “garbage writing.”
The second writer to speak about the topic, Lebanese-Armenian writer Sarkis
Giragossian, presented a brief overview of the globalization wave,
highlighting its consequences on the Armenian culture and literature.
Giragossian said that a new image of Armenians has formed in the Armenian
literature of the last decade. He opposed the centuries-old visionary
national literature of rich values and traditions to materialism, the stress
on the physical being of individuals and their instinctive drives. He
assured the former would overcome the waves of globalization.
The participants then exchanged views on the topic under the chairmanship of
Henrig Etoyian (Armenia) and Hrant Markarian (United States).
The third session of the conference was held on April 7 and focused on two
main themes: “New life experience and new literature” and “The conflict of
identity in the literature of the Armenian Diaspora”.
The first topic was presented by Jenya Kalantarian from Armenia who talked
about the inter-fusion between various literary genres such as poetry and
prose in recent times. Vehanoush Tekeyian from the United States talked
about the conflict of identity in the literature of the Armenian Diaspora.
She related the literature of various Armenian communities to the Diaspora
Armenians’ struggle for survival.
Hovhannes Krikorian (Armenia) and Hagop Mikaelian (Syria) then chaired the
session on discussions and exchange of viewpoints by the participants.
The fourth session of the conference was dedicated to the Diaspora
literature and included presentations on “The Armenian Diaspora Literature
assessed by the modern literary criticism of Armenia” and “Modern Thinking
in the Armenian Diaspora literature”.
The presenter of the first topic, Souren Tanielian from Armenia assessed the
Armenian Diaspora literature in light of the influences of globalization. He
talked about the persistent contradiction between globalization and national
identities. Tanielian spoke in detail about the viewpoints of such Armenian
writers as Kegham Sevan, Vazken Kaprielian and Alex Topdjian, the
perceptions of Armenian literary critics of the Soviet Union and the
adoption of the Diaspora literature in Armenia.
The second topic was presented by Hilda Kalfaian-Panossian, who talked about
the formation of various natures of literature in the post-Genocide Armenian
communities of the Diaspora as a result of different intellectual
influences. As such, Paris was the first to attract attention whereby new
Armenian writers opposed the emotionalism of the old generation. Istanbul
followed with new writers adopting new approached to both prose and poetry
after World War II. The presenter warned that the greatest difficulty the
Armenian Diaspora literature faces today is the issue of being understood
with difficulty.
Vazken Kaprielian (Armenia) and Aram Sepedjian (Lebanon) chaired the
discussions’ session.
The fifth session of the conference featured the topic “The Armenian
Genocide and the Modern Armenian Literature” which was presented by Azad
Yeghiazarian from Armenia. Talking about the large place to this topic in
Armenian literature, Yeghiazarian said: “The national destiny has been one
of the major concerns of literature and literature itself has deeply
affected on national destiny and psychology. In other words, a nation’s
literature is what its history and destiny are; and a nation’s history and
psychology are what its literature is. This is one of the most important
unique aspects of Armenian literature.”
An exchange of viewpoints followed under the chairmanship of Roupen
Hovsepian (Armenia) and Arshag Kazandjian (the United States).
The main theme of the sixth and last session of the day was “The
internationalization of Armenian literature”. Alexander Topdjian from
Armenia talked about the comprehensive procedure by which Armenian
literature should be internationalized.
“The internationalization of Armenian literature should first and foremost
become an indivisible part of government policy. This means that a clear and
comprehensive plan should be devised to introduce our literature to the
world. This is a difficult mission the achievement of which requires the
unity of not only the artistic unions of Armenia but also that of the
Diaspora’s intellectual potential,” he said.
The second presenter, Harout Kuirkdjian from Greece, stressed the value of
quality, highlighting the importance of writers and a literature that would
follow the progress of the global literature, renewing the Armenian language
and exhibiting a revolutionary loyalty.
Berdj Zeitountsian (Armenia) and Haroutioun Berberian (Canada) chaired the
discussions of the last session.
##
View photo here: tm
*****
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of the
Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.