PRESS RELEASE
From: Mira Yardemian
Public Relations Director
Haigazian University
Mexique Street, Kantari, Beirut
P.O.Box. 11-1748
Riad El Solh 1107 2090
Tel: 01-353010/1/2
01-349230/1
The Cultural Hour at Haigazian University Commemorates the 130th
Anniversary of Prominent Armenian Writer Zabel Yessayan
Azadouhi Kalaydjian Simonian lectures on "Zabel Yessayan: Great Writer
and Humanitarian"
Beirut, November 5, 2008- On October 30, 2008, on the occasion of the
130th anniversary of prominent Armenian writer, Zabel Yessayan, Mrs.
Azadouhi Simonian, former lecturer of English at the Lebanese American
University, writer and panelist, delivered a lecture entitled "Zabel
Yessayan: Great Writer and Humanitarian", at the Cultural Hour in the
Haigazian University Auditorium.
Mrs. Simonian, who is the author of numerous articles and books on
Women’s Rights and Armenian Literature, was introduced to the audience
by Dr. Arda Ekmekji, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
Ekmekji considered the Cultural Hour "a monthly forum to build
inter-cultural bridges and raise an awareness of our common cultural
heritage". She introduced Zabel Yessayan as "one of the best figures of
the early 20th century Armenian literature, and a great champion of
human rights and women’s liberation."
Mrs. Simonian presented Zabel Yessayan by quoting the great critic Hagop
Oshagan as being "one of the greatest writers of western Armenian
fiction, if not the greatest."
Simonian explained that Yessayan’s main contribution to Armenian
literature is seen in the psychological aspect of her fiction. "Her
analysis of the tender feelings of a woman’s soul, the nuances of love,
the suffering and revolt lived by women, is what characterizes
Yessayan’s prose", Simonian noted.
Simonian underlined the shift in Zabel Yessayan’s writings after the
Armenian Genocide in 1915. In the post 1915 era, Zabel Yessayan’s
literature was concerned with the consequences and psychological
repercussions of the Armenian Genocide. During that period, she wrote,
"The Agony of People" (1922), "The Last Cup"(1917), "My Soul in Exile"
(1922), and "Retreating Forces" (1923).
Simonian also highlighted the important phase of Yessayan’s life, after
1933, when she settled in Yerevan, and later was arrested by the
Stalinists and sent into exile in Siberia, where she died in prison in
1943. In that period, Yessayan published her most important volumes, the
"Shirt of Flame" (1934), and the "Gardens of Silihdar" (1935)
Simonian concluded her lecture by presenting the audience with a list of
Yessayan’s most important and impressing works, few of which the
Haigazian libraries (Derian Armenological Library, and Barsoumian
Library) had displayed for the occasion.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
