Anna Balakian (14 July 1915 – 12 August 1997) was the former chair of the Department of Comparative Literature at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

. She served as president of the

American Comparative Literature Association The American Comparative Literature Association (ACLA) is the principal learned society in the United States for scholars whose work connects several different literary traditions and cultures or that examines the premises of cross-cultural liter ...

from 1977 to 1980 and was a longtime leader in the

International Comparative Literature Association The International Comparative Literature Association (ICLA) (French: Association Internationale de Littérature Comparée—AILC) is an international organization for international research in comparative literature. Founded in 1954, ICLA pro ...

. The author of numerous acclaimed books and articles, she was the recipient of many awards and was internationally recognized as an authority on symbolism and surrealism.

Life

Anna Balakian was born in Constantinople to Armenian parents. At the age of 11, she moved with her family to New Britain, Connecticut. She earned her bachelor's degree at Hunter College and her master's and doctorate degree at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. While in graduate school, she taught French literature and language full-time at the Hunter College High School. She published her first book, ''The Literary Origins of Surrealism'' in 1947. In this study about the founders of modern French poetry, Anna Balakian placed avant-garde writers and artists against the background of French and German romanticism. In 1953, she began her long career at New York University culminating in her eight-year chairmanship of the Department of Comparative Literature. Balakian's next book, ''Surrealism: The Road to the Absolute'' (1959), is an exposition of, and apologia for, surrealist literature and art. In ''The Symbolist Movement: A Critical Appraisal'' (1969), she gives a concise yet detailed account of symbolist poetry. Her ''André Breton: Magus of Surrealism'' (1971) was the first full-scale biography of the founder of the surrealist movement. She and her sister,

Nona Balakian Nona Balakian ( Armenian: Նոնա Պալագեան, Constantinople, September 4, 1918 - New York City, April 5, 1991) was a literary critic and an editor at the '' New York Times Sunday Book Review''. She served on the Pulitzer Prize committee and ...

, a literary critic and an editor at ''The New York Times Book Review'', were members of a literary circle that also included the playwright

William Saroyan William Saroyan (; August 31, 1908 – May 18, 1981) was an Armenian-American novelist, playwright, and short story writer. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1940, and in 1943 won the Academy Award for Best Story for the film ''T ...

and the diarist Anaïs Nin. The Balakian sisters were the grandnieces of the archbishop and

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily through t ...

survivor

Grigoris Balakian Grigoris Balakian ( hy, Գրիգորիս Պալագեան) 1875 – 8 October 1934), was a bishop of the Armenian Apostolic Church, in addition to being a survivor and memoirist of the Armenian genocide. Life Grigoris Balakian was born in Toka ...

and the aunts of the poet and Pulitzer Prize winner Peter Balakian. In 2004, the

established the Anna Balakian Prize in honor of her and to promote scholarly research by younger comparatists.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balakian, Anna 1915 births 1997 deaths Comparative literature academics American literary critics Women literary critics New York University faculty Hunter College alumni Columbia University alumni American people of Armenian descent Armenian genocide survivors Turkish emigrants to the United States American women critics