Armenian Poetry of Our Time

Description

"Armenian Poetry of Our Time" is a collection of Armenian poems that spans a broad period of modern Armenian literature. Diana Der-Hovanessian, a well-known poet and author of 25 books of poetry and translations, has translated the poems from Armenian into English. Her earlier work, the groundbreaking "Anthology of Armenian Poetry," appeared more than thirty years ago. The works of 117 poets, all originally written in Armenian, are presented in this anthology. The poets are themselves from either Armenia or live in the Armenian Diaspora. There are excerpts of poems translated from the literary giants of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries: Daniel Varoujan, Siamanto, Vahan Tekeyan, Avedik Issahakian, Indra, and Bedros Tourian. The works of noted Diasporan writers such as Vasken Shushanian, Zahrad, Nigoghos Sarafian, Antranig Dzarougian, Vahe Oshagan, and Zareh Melkonian are also included among the translated poems. Their works explore themes that are different from the earlier writers, as they were composed post-Genocide, but they reflect the pain of exile. "Armenian Poetry of Our Time" is a comprehensive volume that will introduce Armenian poetry to the non-Armenian speaking literary world. It is a valuable addition to the corpus of recent books that have begun to present the works of Armenian poets in translation.