Paruyr Sevak

Paruyr Sevak (Armenian: Պարույր Սևակ; January 24, 1924 – June 17, 1971) was an Armenian poet, translator and literary critic. He is considered one of the greatest Armenian poets of the 20th century.^[1]

Paruyr Sevak
Born	Paruyr Ghazaryan (1924-01-24)January 24, 1924 Chanakhchi, Transcaucasian SFSR, Soviet Union
Died	June 17, 1971(1971-06-17) (aged 47) Yerevan, Armenian SSR, Soviet Union
Resting place	Zangakatun, Armenia
Occupation	Poet
Nationality	Armenian
Period	1940s-1970s
Notable works	"We Are Few But We Are Called Armenians," "The Unsilenceable Belfry," "Man in a Palm," "Immortals Command"
Spouse	Maya Avagyan, Nelli Menagharishvili

Sevak reading one of his most famous poems Live, live (Ապրե՜լ, ապրե՜լ)

Biography

Sevak was born Paruyr Ghazaryan (Armenian: Պարույր Ղազարյան) in the village of Chanakhchi (now Zangakatun), Armenian SSR, Soviet Union to Rafael and Anahit Soghomonyan on January 24, 1924.^[a][b] His ancestors had migrated to Chanakhchi, a remote, mountainous village, from the village of Havtvan in Salmast (Salmas), Iran in 1828.^[2] Young Paruyr attended the village school, where he wrote his first poems and published them in the school wall newspaper.^[3] Sevak spent part of his childhood and adolescence in a location called Navchalu yayla^[c] near his native village; in his early writings, he signed his writings with 'Navchalu' as the location where they were written.^[4] In 1939, he became a student at the philological faculty of Yerevan State University.^[5] He graduated in 1945.^[6] The same year he started his postgraduate studies in Armenian literature at the Abeghyan Institute of Literature of the Armenian SSR Academy of Sciences, which lasted until 1948.^[6] In 1951, Sevak went to Moscow to study at the Gorky Institute of World Literature.^[6] After graduation, he worked there as professor of translation in 1957-59.

In 1960, Sevak returned to Yerevan at the height of the Khrushchev Thaw and resumed his prolific literary, scientific, and public career.^[6] He started to work at the Abeghyan Institute of Literature as a scientific researcher.^[6] In 1966, Sevak signed a petition supporting the unification of Nagorno-Karabakh with Soviet Armenia, alongside Martiros Saryan, Yervand Kochar, Hamo Sahyan, and other major Armenian cultural figures.^[7]

From 1966 to 1971, Sevak served as secretary on the Board of the Writers Union of Armenia. In 1967, he became a doctor of philology after his dissertation defense.^[6] In 1968, Sevak was elected to the Supreme Soviet of the Armenian SSR.^[6]

Plaque marking the building where Paruyr Sevak lived on Kasyan Street in Yerevan

Sevak died on June 17, 1971, in a car crash while on a drive back to Yerevan.^[6] In previous years, he had voiced his criticism of the cultural policies of the Soviet government and for this, many Armenians believe, he was murdered by the Soviet government.^[8] His wife, Nelly Menagharishvili, also died in the car crash. He was buried in the backyard of his home, in Zangakatun, which later became a museum open to everyone.

Literary work

Sevak's long poem Anlr’eli zangakatunë (The Incessant Bell-tower) is dedicated to Armenian composer Komitas and to the memory of the Armenian genocide.

Publications

• (1948) Anmahnerë hramayum en (Անմահները հրամայում են (The immortals command))
• (1953) Anhasht mtermut’yun (Անհաշտ մտերմություն (Irreconcilable intimacy))
• (1954) Siro chanaparh (Սիրո ճանապարհ (Path of love))
• (1969) Yeghits’i luys (Եղիցի լույս (Let there be light)
• (1971) Dzer tsanot’nerë (Ձեր ծանոթները (Your acquaintances))
• (1972–1976) Yerkeri zhoghovatsu vets’ hatorov (Երկերի ժողովածու վեց հատորով (Collected works in six volumes))
• (1982–1983) Yerker: zhoghovatsu yerek’ hatorov (Երկեր ։ ժողովածու երեք հատորով (Collected works in three volumes))

Translations into English

• Selected Poems. Translated with an introduction by Garig Basmadjian. Jerusalem: St. James Press, 1973.
• Paruyr Sevak's Poetry: Select Translations from Armenian. Translated by Jack Aslanian. Yerevan: VMV-Print, 2011.
• The Incessant Bell-tower. Translated by Svetlana Vardanian. Yerevan: Limush Press, 2015 (2nd revised ed.: 2017).

Legacy and memory

Paruyr Sevak on a 2018 1000 Dram banknote

One of the main streets of Yerevan's Kanaker-Zeytun District is named after Sevak.^[9] School #123 of Yerevan is named after Paruyr Sevak.^[10]

On 2018, the third series of Dram banknotes were printed, featuring Sevak on the 1000 Dram note.

In popular culture

• Paruyr Sevak (1984), film directed by Levon Mkrtchyan, Armenfilm

Notes

1. Sevak's date of birth is incorrectly recorded as January 26 in various sources and official documents. Since he was born during the mourning ceremonies following the death of Vladimir Lenin, his birth was recorded two days late.^[2]
2. Instead of receiving his father's surname, Soghomonyan, Paruyr received the surname Ghazaryan, formed from his paternal grandfather's given name.^[3]
3. Yayla is a word of Turkic origin meaning 'highland' or 'mountain pasture'.