Mkirtich Achemian ( hy, Մկրտիչ Աճէմեան) (1838–1917) was an ethnic

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

n poet.

Biography

Achemian was born in 1838 in

Ortaköy Ortaköy ( ''Middle Village)'' is a neighbourhood within the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the European shore of the Bosphorus. it was originally a small fishing village, known in Greek as Agios Fokas (Άγιος Φωκάς) in t ...

, a suburb of

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

and received his early education in a local Armenian school. Beginning in 1852, he continued his education in Murat-Raphaelian school in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

where he developed his literary talent under Ghevond Alishan. He returned to Constantinople in 1858 and started working for the State Telegraph Administration, he kept this job for most of his life. Achemian's poems were published in various newspapers and periodicals, and were eventually collected into three books. ''Smiles and Tears'' (Ժպիտք եւ արտասուք, 1871), ''Light and Shadows'' (Լոյս եւ ստուերք, 1878) and ''Spring Winds'' (Գարնան հովեր, 1892). In 1908 he published all three books as one volume, with additional poems that he had written since 1892. He also published a collection of translated poems, ''Diverse Translations'' (Զանազան թարգմանութիւնք). Achemian's poems are written in refined

Modern Armenian Modern Armenian ( hy, աշխարհաբար, ''ashkharhabar'' or ''ašxarhabar'', literally the "secular/lay language") is the modern vernacular (vulgar) form of the Armenian language. Although it first appeared in the 14th century, it was not until ...

, they are delicate and reach in rhymes that impart a certain musicality. He was a poet of the romantic school, but kept traces of classicism. He was a renowned poet in his time, but he was unwilling or unable to change his style of poetry which lost its flavor in the 1880s.The Heritage of Armenian Literature: From the Eighteenth Century to Modern Times By Agop Jack Hacikyan, Gabriel. Basmajian, Edward S. Franchuk (Page 362)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Achemian, Mkrtich Ethnic Armenian poets 1917 deaths Armenians from the Ottoman Empire Writers from Istanbul 1838 births Ethnic Armenian translators 19th-century translators