PRESS RELEASE
Shahan Natalie Family Foundation, Inc.
3727 West Magnolia Blvd., Suite 215
Burbank, CA 91505
Contact: Sylva Natalie Manoogian
Tel: 323-974-5676
E-mail: hyesearch@hotmail.com
Website:

TRIBUTE TO SHAHAN NATALIE, THE INDOMITABLE IDEOLOGUE (1884-1983)

Los Angeles, California — In commemoration of the 125th anniversary of
his birth, the Shahan Natalie Family Foundation invites the public to
attend a tribute to the living memory of the internationally known
intrepid Armenian thinker, writer, orator, and activist. The event will
take place on Saturday, April 10, 2010, from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Los
Angeles Public Library’s Mark Taper Auditorium, 630 West Fifth Street,
in downtown Los Angeles. Preceding the afternoon program, from
10am-noon, Sylva Natalie Manoogian will lead a Hye (Armenian) Treasures
tour of the Central Library’s resources.

Born in the village of Husenik, province of Kharberd, Historic Armenia,
Shahan Natalie (born Hagop Der Hagopian) was orphaned at the age of 11,
during the 1895 Hamidian massacres of the Armenians. He was sent to
Istanbul and was accepted by the famed Berberian Academy, where his
literary career and community activism were launched. At the age of 16,
he returned to his native village to join the teaching staff of the
school at the Church of St. Varvara. Four years later, in 1904, he
immigrated to the United States. Fated to be spared from the atrocities
of the 1915-1923 Armenian Genocide by order of the Turkish government,
he fulfilled his boyhood vow to devote his entire life to defending the
rights of his people world-wide.

Over a period of more than six decades, he wrote under the nom de plume
Shahan Natalie, published numerous Armenian language newspapers and
books, and traveled to his homeland and Armenian communities throughout
the Diaspora. Shahan Natalie’s literary legacy embodies his love,
devotion, and pride in the Armenian culture,language and literature, as
well as his admiration and respect for the languages and literatures of
the world. He transmitted these feelings to his family and others whose
lives he touched. In December 1998, the Los Angeles Public Library’s
International Languages Department Armenian Language & Literature
collection was dedicated in Shahan Natalie’s name.

The event is free and open to the public. Parking is available in the
lot beneath the Library, with its entrance at 524 South Flower Street
for a $1.00 flat rate, with validation for Los Angeles Public Library
cardholders.

Visit the Library’s website, for further information, or
e-mail Sylva Natalie Manoogian at hyesearch@hotmail.com for
reservations.

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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress