Zahrad

Zahrad
Զահրատ
Born 10 May 1924
Constantinople, Turkey
Died 20 February 2007 (aged 82)
Istanbul, Turkey
Occupation Poet

Zareh Yaldizciyan (10 May 1924 – 20 February 2007), better known by his pen name Zahrad (Armenian: Զահրատ), was a poet lived in Turkey and produced poems in Western Armenian language .[1][2]

Biography

Of Armenian descent, Zahrad was born in the Nişantaşı district of Istanbul, Turkey.[3] His father, Movses, had been a jurist, adviser, and translator for the Ottoman Foreign Ministry.[3] However, he had lost his father at the age of three.[4] His mother, Ankine, was from the district of Samatya. Zahrad grew up with his maternal grandfather Levon Vartanyan.[3]

In 1942 he graduated from Özel Pangaltı Ermeni Lisesi, the local Mechitarist Armenian lyceum.[4][5] He attended the Faculty University of Medicine in Istanbul but left in order to work.[4][5] Due to the fear that his family wouldn't appreciate the fact that he wanted to be a poet, he changed his pen name to "Zahrad". In November 1963, he married Anayis Antreasian.[3]

Legacy

Levon Ananyan, the president of the Writers Union of Armenia, characterized Zahrad as "the huge oak tree of diasporan poetry, whose literary heritage had a deep and stable influence upon modern poetry of not only the diaspora, but also Armenia."[6][7] Writer and journalist Rober Haddeciyan is quoted as saying, "all the roads of our poems take don't lead to Rome, but to Zahrad".[3] His poetry has been translated into 22 languages.[8]

President of Armenia Robert Kocharian has awarded Zahrad with the Movses Khorenatsi medal for his contribution to Armenian literature and culture.[9]

Works

Notes and references

  1. ↑ Zahrad (1924-2007)
  2. ↑ "Poet Zahrad Passes Away". Asbarez. February 22, 2007. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Saskal, Ohannes (07/03/2003). "Zahrad: Şiirdeki 'Yaşam Tadı'" (in Turkish). Acik Radyo. Retrieved 20 January 2013. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "Zahrad" (in Turkish). Aras Yayincilik. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Contemporary Literature in Translation , Issues 13-22. 1972. p. 38. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  6. ↑ Zahrat Was One Of Great Figures Of Armenian Poetry, Literary Critic Suren Danielian Says
  7. ↑ Kaminsky, edited by Ilya; Harris, Susan (2010). The Ecco anthology of international poetry (1st ed. ed.). New York: Ecco. p. 472. ISBN 9780061583247. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  8. ↑ Mouradian, Khatchig (February 24, 2007). "Zahrad". The Armenian Weekly.
  9. ↑ "Zahrad". AIM: Armenian International Magazine (Glendale, California) 10: 22. 1999. Retrieved 20 January 2013.