Levon Shant ( hy, Լեւոն Շանթ; born Levon Nahashbedian, then changed to Levon Seghposian; 6 April 1869 – 29 November 1951) was an

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 ...

playwright, novelist, poet and founder of the

Hamazkayin Hamazkayin (), short for Hamazkayin Armenian Educational and Cultural Society, is a major cultural organization of the Armenian Diaspora, with a presence in every significant Armenian community worldwide. In addition to organizing cultural events ...

Armenian Educational and Cultural Society.

Biography

He was a lifelong member of the

Armenian Revolutionary Federation The Armenian Revolutionary Federation ( hy, Հայ Յեղափոխական Դաշնակցութիւն, ՀՅԴ ( classical spelling), abbr. ARF or ARF-D) also known as Dashnaktsutyun (collectively referred to as Dashnaks for short), is an Armenian ...

and is the namesake of the ARF's Shant Student Association. He attended Armenian school at Scutari ( Uskudar) until 1884 and then went to the Gevorgian seminary at

Echmiadzin Vagharshapat ( hy, Վաղարշապատ ) is the 4th-largest city in Armenia and the most populous municipal community of Armavir Province, located about west of the capital Yerevan, and north of the closed Turkish-Armenian border. It is comm ...

until 1891. He returned to Constantinople to teach and write; his first literary work was accepted by the daily Hairenik of that city in 1891. He departed to Germany in 1893 for six years to study science, child psychology, education, literature and history in the universities of Leipzig, Jena and Munich.Agop J. Hacikyan (ed.) (2005) ''The Heritage of Armenian Literature'', vol. III, Detroit, , p. 642. Afterwards he returned to Constantinople, where he continued working as a teacher. As an author, he was most renowned for his plays: Hin Astvadsner ('Ancient Gods', 1908), Kaisre ('The Emperor', 1914), Inkads Berdi Ishkhanuhin ('The Princess of the Fallen Castle', 1921), Oshin Payl (1929). He was one of the vice-presidents of the Armenian Parliament during the Republic and led a delegation to Moscow in April 1920 to negotiate with the communist regime. He left Armenia after its sovietization in 1921, and settled in Paris, Cairo, and eventually in Beirut. He was one of the founders of the

cultural association in Cairo (1928). The next year, he was founding principal of the Nshan Palandjian Djemaran (College), Beirut, from 1929 until his death. One of many authors banned in Armenia for his political views, a volume of his plays was exceptionally published in Soviet Armenia in 1968. Levon Shant is regarded by many as the greatest Armenian playwright. His plays The Emperor and Ancient Gods remain among the most frequently staged Armenian dramas. The latter revolutionized the Armenian literary world when it was premiered in Tiflis in 1913. Translated into English, German, Italian, French, and Russian, it was directed by

Konstantin Stanislavski Konstantin Sergeyevich Stanislavski ( Alekseyev; russian: Константин Сергеевич Станиславский, p=kənstɐnʲˈtʲin sʲɪrˈgʲejɪvʲɪtɕ stənʲɪˈslafskʲɪj; 7 August 1938) was a seminal Russian Soviet Fe ...

in 1917.

Works

*The Egoist («Եսի մարդը»), 1901 *For Someone Else («Ուրիշի համար»), 1903 *On the Road («Ճամբուն վրայ»), 1904 *Ancient Gods («Հին աստուածներ»), 1908 *The Princess of the Fallen Castle («Ինկած բերդի իշխանուհին») *The Emperor («Կայսրը»), 1916

References

External links

Levon Shant's play the Ancient Gods. Translated into English by Anne T. Vardanian (First act only).Levon Shant's play The Princess of the Fallen Castle. Translated into English by Anne T. Vardanian (First act only).Levon Shant's play The Emperor. Translated into English by Anne T. Vardanian (Prologue only).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shant, Levon Armenian male poets Symbolist poets Armenians from the Ottoman Empire 1951 deaths 1869 births Writers from Istanbul People of the First Republic of Armenia Armenian political philosophers Gevorgian Seminary alumni