Armenian schools to celebrate the anniversary of Armenian poet Charents the whole year

YEREVAN, March 13. /ARKA/. The year 2012 is announced in the Armenian schools the year of famous Armenian poet Yeghishe Charents related to his 115 anniversary, said Director of Charents’s Museum Lilit Hakobyan.

The start of the event became procession of pupils and teachers of general education schools of Yerevan who walked from Charents museum to his monument.

“Jointly with the department of general education of Yerevan Municipality we have developed a broad program which will be implemented in the schools of Yerevan and the regions of Armenia”, said Hakobyan on Tuesday to the journalists.

She said that during a year up to November 27 (day of the poet’s death) in the schools quizzes, concerts, exhibitions, thematic concerts, Charents readings and readers festival will be organized. 

Hakobyan said that it is planned to publish a number of books dedicated to Charents’s poetry, as well as collections of his poetry. 

She said that on the day of the poet’s birthday, March 13 the book “Charents 115” was issued which can serve as a textbook for the pupils and the teachers. 

Charent’s most famous poem “For My Sweet Armenia” is being currently prepared for publication in different languages, as well as collection of selected works of the poet in English language.

Hakobyan said that on the day of Charents’s birthday in the museum exhibition “Yeghishe Charents” will open, exhibits of which will be 16 portraits of his contemporaries and modern artists.

In the procession, the head of Writers Union of Armenia Levon Ananyan called the participants to follow high moral values and precepts contained in the poet’s works.

Famous Armenian poet Yeghishe Charents (Yeghishe Abgar Soghomonyan) was born on March 13, 1897 in Kars. In 1914 his first collection of poems was issued in Kars titled “Three songs to a pale girl…”, dedicated to his muse Astghik Khondakhchyan. 

Charents has left a large poetic heritage. He obtained fame with patriotic poem “For My Sweet Armenia”, as well as the poem “Dante’s legend”, "The Demented Crowds”, “Country of Nairi”. The poet was close to Russian culture. He had translated the works of Pushkin, Lermontov, Mayakovsky, Gorky. Charents’s works translated famous Russian poets, as Anna Akhmatova, Boris Pasternak, Aleksandr Blok.

In 30s Charents was hit by a wave of repressions. He was arrested, blamed in nationalism and anti-revolutionism. By official version, the poet died on November 27, 1937 in Yerevan prison hospital. 

In 1974 in Yerevan opened the Charents museum in the apartment that Charents family has received in 1935. -0-