Intellectuals of Armenia and Diaspora: The Quest for a New Paradigm

 Tigran Yegavian

In the 20th century, a large part of Armenian literary production took place outside the borders of Armenia. In the diaspora, the philosopher and editor-in-chief of the GAM Literary Magazine, Marc Nichanian, reminds us of the injustice that the Armenian literary world suffered by the censoring of Western Armenian by the Soviet regime. Access to important literary figures such as Hagop Oshagan, Indra or even the writers of the Paris School (Chahan Chahnour, Nigoghos Sarafian, Zareh Vorpuni, etc.) were limited. This question, which has been relegated to secondary importance in the face of the existential challenges facing the Armenian world, has one merit: It implicitly calls for a new paradigm in the relationship between the literary elite of Armenia and the diaspora.

Panel on Vahé and Hagop Oshagan Held in Lisbon

Taline Voskeritchian

 

Lisbon was recently the site of two important events related to the literature of the Armenian diaspora.

The first was a panel that convened at the International Symposium of the Modern Language Association, the major professional association for scholars and teachers of language and literature, including comparative literature. This year’s theme was Remembering Voices Lost. According to the organizers, the conference, which took place between July 23 and 25 in the Portuguese capital, aimed to “recuperate the ‘lost voices’ of humanity: those that have been buried or forgotten and those that have been marginalized or othered on the grounds of their perceived foreignness.”

Reflections on Armenian Language Learning’s Impact on the Armenian-American Experience

Georgi Ann Bargamian-Oshagan

 

I don’t know whether it was a fluke or by design, but the Armenian Weekly’s Aug. 26, 2017 issue included three articles about the role Armenian-language knowledge plays—or doesn’t play—in one’s Armenian identity: Marie Papazian’s “A Generational Question: ‘If You Don’t Speak Armenian, Are You Really Armenian?’”; Garen Yegparian’s “Language vs. Spirit”; and Rupen Janbazian’s “‘Where Are You From?’ and the Huge Pile of Complexes.” Those articles were followed by the Weekly’s Oct. 6, 2017 online posting of Ani Bournazian’s “How Do You Measure Armenian Identity?” I read each with interest, and here I offer my reflections that resulted from those readings.

Oshagan and Oshagan’s Take on Karabagh: A World Of Images and Words

Ara Oshagan’s photographs all have something askew. Things are viewed from unusual angles, bodies are cut off into torsos, hands or legs appear without bodies and geometric patterns take form. Starkly black and white, his images are intriguing glimpses into people’s lives, illuminated with emotions. Intimate moments, in private or public space, are revealed. Father Land, Oshagan’s first volume of photographs, more than 10 years in the making, appeared at the end of 2010. It is a collaboration with his father Vahé Oshagan, who passed away in 2000. Its Brooklyn-based publisher, powerHouse Books, hosted an exhibition of some 20 photographs from November to December 2010, Oshagan signed books at the International Center of Photography in Manhattan a few weeks later and a larger exhibition, ending this January, was held at the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery.