ExԱյլ: Krikor Beledian on Diasporic Multilingualism

Karen Jallatyan

Two translations in two years. Two translations of Krikor Beledian’s monumental Fifty Years of Armenian Literature in France, 1922-1972, From the Same to the Other (Cinquante ans de littérature arménienne en France, 1922-1972, Du Même à L’Autre, 2001, CNRS) were published in the past two years: the English version translated by Christopher Atamian in 2016; the Armenian version a year later, translated by Arpi Totoyan. Growing out of Beledian’s second dissertation, defended in 1995, this meticulously researched volume analyzes the Armenian Catastrophe and diasporic exile by presenting the literary milieu and the literature of the “Menk” (We) generation whose authors – among them Shahnour, Sarafian, and Vorpouni – started publishing in the 1920s and were active well into the 1970s. Here, I will focus on the essay “The Bilingual Net” («Երկլեզու ցանցը», 5-39) with which Beledian introduces his work’s Armenian translation. True to its title, this text attempts to think diasporic multilingualism from the prism of reading (hence writing) literature. Before delving into the essay, I invite you to take a brief excursion through Beledian’s literary criticism to see what this author might mean by “thinking” (theorizing) and “reading” (writing).

On Western Armenian and Translating: A Conversation with Christopher Atamian

Rupen Janbazian

 

Author and literary critic Krikor Beledian’s Fifty Years of Armenian Literature in France, translated from the original French into English by Christopher Atamian, is a groundbreaking study of the Armenian literary scene in the important Armenian Diaspora community of France.

The book examines Armenian literature as it emerged in France between 1922 and the early 1970s, and retraces the literary history of the period, starting with Armenian immigration until the passing away of the movement’s main representatives. It also examines the most significant works published in that period, studying the issues raised by a literature of exile, born after an event that was experienced and interpreted as a “national catastrophe.”

Beledian has lived in Paris since 1967 and has become intimately aware of the Armenian literary scene in France. He is an accomplished writer in his own right, as well as prolific critic. Through this book, he has produced comprehensive and fascinating view of the Armenian literary landscape in France, one that will be of lasting significance to the study of Armenian literature.

Atamian’s translation of Fifty Years of Armenian Literature in France comes out at a time when a small but important number of works in translation are shedding light on literature previously unavailable in English.

The Armenian Weekly recently sat down with Atamian to discuss this latest publication.

Zareh Vorpouni's The Candidate Published in English

Zareh Vorpouni (1902–1980) was a prominent French Armenian writer. He was the author of numerous novels and short story collections, including The Persecuted, a cycle of four novels published between 1929 and 1974: The Attempt (1929), The Candidate (1967), Asphalt (1972), and A Regular Day (1974).

Krikor Beledian's "Fifty Years of Armenian Literature in France" Has Been Published in English

California State University, Fresno Armenian Studies Program Director Prof. Barlow Der Mugrdechian announced that Krikor Beledian’s Fifty Years of Armenian Literature in France has been published by the Armenian Series of The Press, at California State University, Fresno.

Translated from the original French into English by Christopher Atamian, Fifty Years of Armenian Literature in France is a groundbreaking study of the Armenian literary scene in the important Armenian Diaspora community of France. Beledian has produced a comprehensive and fascinating view of the Armenian literary landscape in France, one that will be of lasting significance to the study of Armenian literature.