Nationality Armenian Name Vahan Malezian | Role Writer Died 1966, Nice, France | |
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Born 1871
Sulina, Romania ( 1871 ) Occupation Poet, writer, translator, and political activist. | ||
Vahan Malezian (Armenian: Վահան Մալեզեան, 1871 in Sulina, Romania - 1966 in Nice, France ) was an Armenian writer, translator, poet, and social activist.
Contents
Life
Vahan Malezian was born in Sulina, Romania, but that same year the family moved to Constantinople. He received his education at Hagop Gurgen's private school, then attended law school, from which he graduated in 1895. In 1896 he moved to Mersin, where he was imprisoned for a year on charges of revolutionary activity. He spent his life in different parts of the world: Cairo (1898-1923), Brussels (1923-27), Paris/Marseilles (1927–45), and New York (1945-47); he eventually settled in Nice in 1948. In Cairo he was one of the founders of the Sahmanadrakan Ramgavar (Constitutional Democratic) Party, which later merged with other organizations to form the Ramgavar Azatagan Gusagtsutyun (The Armenian Democratic Political Party). He held administrative positions in the Armenian General Benevolent Union, which was founded in Cairo in 1906.
Literary Activity
His literary activities began in the late 1880s with a set of poems that appeared in Massis and Arevelk (Orient). His first collection of poems was published in 1890 under the title Mrmunjk (Murmurs), followed in 1892 by Anitzyale (The Cursed), a verse narrative. His most productive years were the ones in Cairo, where he wrote both prose and poetry that was later collected in various volumes, such as Keronner (Candles, 1912), Taragri me Hushatetre (Notebook of an exile, 1915), Antsatz Orer (Days gone by, 1927), and Karapi Yerki (The Swan Song, 1949). His numerous articles, memoirs, letters, and other material have been compiled in two volumes: Champus Vra (On my way) and Champus Tzayre (At the end of my way), publish in 1950 and 1955. He also translated works by Victor Hugo, Henri Barbusse, Maurice Maeterlinck, and others. In 1956, on the occasion of his eighty-fifth birthday, a commemorative volume dedicated to his life and accomplishments was published in Paris.