Zabel Asadour ( hy, Զապէլ Ասատուր) better known by her literary pseudonym Sibil ( hy, Սիպիլ) was born as Zabel Khanjian ( hy, Զապէլ Խանճեան), July 23, 1863 in

Üsküdar Üsküdar () is a large and densely populated district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the Anatolian shore of the Bosphorus. It is bordered to the north by Beykoz, to the east by Ümraniye, to the southeast by Ataşehir and to the south by Kadıköy; ...

district,

İstanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_in ...

- June 19, 1934), was a famous

Ottoman Armenian Armenians in the Ottoman Empire (or Ottoman Armenians) mostly belonged to either the Armenian Apostolic Church or the Armenian Catholic Church. They were part of the Armenian millet until the Tanzimat reforms in the nineteenth century equa ...

poet, writer, publisher, educator and philanthropist.

Biography

She was educated at the

in Constantinople where she graduated in 1879. She was one of the founders of the (Ազգանուէր հայուհեաց ընկերութիւն), an organization that supported the construction, maintenance, and operation of Armenian girl schools throughout the Armenian populated districts of the

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) ...

. She taught in the provinces and then in Constantinople. In 1879, she wrote the textbook ''Practical Grammar for Contemporary Modern Armenian'' (Գործնական քերականութիւն արդի աշխարհաբարի), a classical grammar book that has been revised and republished many times with help of her husband . Sibil also wrote general articles about education and pedagogy, as well as poems for children. Writer and political figure

Krikor Zohrab Krikor Zohrab ( hy, Գրիգոր Զոհրապ; 26 June 1861 – 1915) was an influential Armenian writer, politician, and lawyer from Constantinople (now Istanbul). At the onset of the Armenian genocide he was arrested by the Turkish government an ...

, Hrant Asadour, together with Sibil collectively re-established the literary publication ''Massis'', where Sibil wrote portraits of many renowned Western Armenian literary figures. The articles were collected in 1921 in a joint book which Hrant Asadour entitled ''Profiles'' (Դիմաստուերներ). Sibil was best known for her literary works. In the 1880s she published her poems in ''Massis'' and ''Hairenik''. In 1891, she published her novel ''The Heart of a Girl'' (Աղջկան մը սիրտը) and a collection of poems, ''Reflections'' (Ցոլքեր), in 1902, mostly romantic and patriotic poems. She also wrote short stories, particularly about women. She also wrote for theater and one of her most famous works is the play ''The Bride'' (Հարսը). In 1901, she married writer, journalist, and intellectual Hrant Asadour. She and Hrant Asadour exchanged numerous love letters over the course of their courtship, a handful of which have been translated into English by Jennifer Manoukian.

References

External links

Zabel Sibil Asadour's play the Bride. Translated into English by Nishan Parlakian.On Her Life and Work (In Armenian)The Heritage of Armenian Literature: Volume III
{{DEFAULTSORT:Asadour, Zabel Sibil 1863 births 1934 deaths 19th-century Armenian poets 19th-century Armenian women writers 19th-century writers from the Ottoman Empire 20th-century Armenian poets 20th-century Armenian women writers 20th-century writers from the Ottoman Empire Armenian philanthropists Armenian feminists Armenian-language women poets Armenian-language poets Women poets from the Ottoman Empire Armenian educators Educators from the Ottoman Empire People from Üsküdar Writers from Istanbul Armenians from the Ottoman Empire Burials at Şişli Armenian Cemetery