Zabel Sibil Asadour

Zabel Asadour (Sibil)
Born 23 July 1863
Üsküdar, Constantinople, Ottoman Turkey
Died 19 June 1934 (aged 70)
Istanbul, Turkey
Occupation Novelist, poet, writer, publisher, and philanthropist.

Zabel Asadour (Զապէլ Ասատուր) better known by her literary pseudonym Sibil (Սիպիլ) was born as Zabel Khanjian on July 23, 1863 in Üsküdar, a district of İstanbul. She died on June 19, 1934. She was a famous ethnic Armenian poet, writer, publisher, educator and philanthropist.[1]

She was educated at Üsküdar Djemaran in Constantinople where she graduated in 1879. She was one of the founders of the Society of Nation-Dedicated Armenian Women (Ազգանուէր հայուհեաց ընկերութիւն), an organization that supported the construction, maintenance, and operation of Armenian girl schools throughout the Armenian populated districts of the Ottoman Empire.[2] She taught in the provinces and then in Constantinople.

In 1879, she wrote the textbook Practical Grammar for Contemporary Modern Armenian (Գործնական քերականութիւն արդի աշխարհաբարի), a classical grammar book that has been revised and republished many times with help of her husband Hrant Asadour. Sibil also wrote general articles about education and pedagogy, as well as poems for children.

Writer and political figure Krikor Zohrab, Hrant Asadour, together with Sibil collectively re-established the literary publication Massis, where Sibil wrote portraits of many renowned Western Armenian literary figures. The articles were collected in 1921 in a joint book which Hrant Asadour entitled Profiles (Դիմաստուերներ).

Sibil was best known for her literary works. In the 1880s she published her poems in Massis and Hairenik. In 1891, she published her novel The Heart of a Girl (Աղջկան մը սիրտը) and a collection of poems, Reflections (Ցոլքեր), in 1902, mostly romantic and patriotic poems. She also wrote short stories, particularly about women. She also wrote for theater and one of her most famous works is the play The Bride (Հարսը).[3] In 1901, she married writer, journalist, and intellectual Hrant Asadour.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "Zabel Asadour". Abril Armenian Bookstore. Abril Book Store. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  2. ↑ "Sibil Biography". An electronic library featuring a huge collection of documents on Armenian literature, history, religion and anything Armenia-related. Armenianhouse. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  3. ↑ "The Bride. Translated from Armenian into English by Nishan Parlakian.". Project for Armenian Dramatic Arts. Armenian Dramatic Arts Alliance. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  4. ↑ Azadian, Toros (1937). Ժամանակակից Դէմքեր : Ա. Զապէլ եւ Հրանտ Ասատուր. (in Armenian). Istanbul: Gutenberg. G.N. Makasciyan. p. 11. Retrieved 8 October 2011.

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