Antranig Dzarugian (Անդրանիկ Ծառուկեան; 1913 – 1989 in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
) was an influential
diasporan Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
writer, poet, educator, and journalist in the 20th century.
Antranig Dzarugian (transliterated in
Eastern Armenian as Andranik Tsarukian) was born in
Gürün
Gürün is a town and a district of Sivas Province of Turkey. The mayor is Nami Çiftçi ( MHP).
History
Toponymy
The current name Gürün is most probably a corruption of the ancient name Tegarama, a city in Anatolia during the Bronze Age. ...
,
Sivas Vilayet
The Vilayet of Sivas (, ota, ولايت سيوس, Vilâyet-i Sivas) was a first-level administrative division ( vilayet) of the Ottoman Empire, and was one of the Six Armenian vilayets. The vilayet was bordered by Erzurum Vilayet to the east, ...
,
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
in 1913. He was related to Chello Toros (1871–1893), one of the fighters of the
Armenian irregular units
''Fedayi'' (Western hy, Ֆէտայի ''Fedayi''; Eastern hy, Ֆիդայի ''Fidayi''), also known as the Armenian irregular units or Armenian militia, were Armenian civilians who voluntarily left their families to form self-defense units and ...
against the Ottoman Empire. During the years of the
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 ...
, Dzarugian separated from his mother as a result of the
death marches
A death march is a forced march of prisoners of war or other captives or deportees in which individuals are left to die along the way. It is distinguished in this way from simple prisoner transport via foot march. Article 19 of the Geneva Conven ...
in the Syrian desert and spent his childhood in the Armenian Orphanage of
Aleppo. In 1921, he met his mother in Aleppo and moved to the local
Haygazian Armenian School to receive his elementary education. In the same year, his father was arrested and killed in the
Marash
Marash (Armenian: Մարաշ), officially Kahramanmaraş () and historically Germanicea (Greek: Γερμανίκεια), is a city in the Mediterranean Region of Turkey and the administrative center of Kahramanmaraş Province. Before 1973, Kahrama ...
prison for his participation in the patriotic movement against the Ottoman Empire.
After completing his elementary schooling in Aleppo, Dzarugian moved to
Beirut
Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
to complete his education at the newly opened Armenian College. Among his teachers in the college were prominent Armenian educators such as
Nikol Aghbalian and
Levon Shant. He became a dropout, and later started his career as a teacher in the Armenian schools of Aleppo and Beirut. He says that his writings are influenced by
Siamanto and
Daniel Varoujan.
Books and publications
He first published the ''
Nayiri'' literary monthly in Aleppo (1945-1952), and afterwards he moved it to Beirut, where he published it as a literary, cultural and political weekly (1952-1983).
His first book ''Yegherapakhd Kertoghner'' (in
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
Եղերաբախտ քերթողներ) was about Armenian poets and literary figures martyred during the
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 ...
in Ottoman Turkey. This was followed by the novel ''Ashtray'' (in
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
Մոխրաման). Among his most prominent works, "People Without Childhood" (in
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
Մանկութիւն չունեցող մարդիկ, 1955) and "Ethereal Aleppo" (in
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
Երազային Հալէպը, 1980) are autobiographical accounts dedicated to his childhood life in the orphanage of Aleppo. Also very famous is his ''Letter to Yerevan'' (in
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
Թուղթ առ Երեւան). Dzarugian visited
Soviet Armenia
The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic,; russian: Армянская Советская Социалистическая Республика, translit=Armyanskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respublika) also commonly referred to as Soviet A ...
for the first time in 1956. His impressions of his frequent trips to the homeland were reflected in his books "Old Dreams, New Paths" (Հին երազներ, նոր ճամբաներ, 1958) and "New Armenia, New Armenians" (Նոր Հայաստան, նոր հայեր, 1983).
References
1913 births
1989 deaths
People from Gürün
People from Sivas vilayet
Armenians from the Ottoman Empire
Armenian educators
Armenian male poets
20th-century poets
20th-century Armenian poets
20th-century male writers
Lebanese magazine founders
{{Lebanon-poet-stub