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“They say to know a writer, you have to be in his or her homeland” – this is what Dean of the Faculty of Philology at the Armenian State Pedagogical University (ASPU), Professor Ashot Galstyan rightfully noted during the scientific conference dedicated to the 150th birth anniversary of Avetik Isahakyan.
Organized by the Chair of Armenian Ancient and Medieval Literature and its Teaching Methods of the Faculty, the event dedicated to the 150th birth anniversary of the writer kicked off with a scientific conference and a presentation of the anthology of articles of the scientific conference at the House-Museum of Avetik Isahakyan located in Gyumri.
“Isahakyan left a literary legacy that will always keep up with the times, taking with it the sublime universal and national ideas,” corresponding member of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, Doctor of Philological Sciences Aelita Dolukhanyan stated as she greeted the participants of the scientific conference.
She noted that Isahakyan was a wonderful translator and was familiar with written and verbal literature of the world which strictly rejected national discrimination and warned about the posing threat of hunger of the spirit.
The speeches by the lecturers of the Chair of Armenian Ancient and Medieval Literature and its Teaching Methods of the ASPU Faculty of Philology touched upon a number of problems in the works of Avetik Isahakyan.
In her speech entitled “The Uninterrupted Fairy Tale about Love by Avetik Isahakyan”, Deputy Dean of the Faculty, Associate Professor of the Chair of Armenian Ancient and Medieval Literature and its Teaching Methods Naira Khachatryan went into the depths of the labyrinth of the poet’s love stories and came to the conclusion that Avetik Isahakyan chose, unconstrained, the fate of the eternal lover as leap of the soul.
The topic of the speech by Associate Professor of the Chair of Armenian Ancient and Medieval Literature and its Teaching Methods Lilit Hovsepyan was the short stories by Avetik Isahakyan; she touched upon the short stories that were released in periodicals and then in separate books and “Anthology of Works” starting from the 1900s, adding that they were the reinterpreted pieces of the life of Isahakyan, the interesting part of his career and, unlike lyricism, they have been relatively little studied.
“What is unforgettable and important in the rich and multi-genre literature of Avetik Sahakyan are his legends and ballads, which are taken from the literatures of various nations of the world and are of universal nature,” Associate Professor of the Chair Ruzan Dolukhanyan remarked in her speech, presenting the characteristics of teaching them in school and highlighting the fact that the substance of most of them is pedagogical and disciplinary.
Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences Gaiane Mardyan presented “The teaching of Avetik Isahakyan’s short story “The Chibouk of Patience” in high school”, attaching importance to the glorification of man’s diligence and honest work, the people’s rebellion against injustice, while Director of the Fundamental Academic Library of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia Maya Grigoryan touched upon the historical fate of Armenia in the letters of Avetik Isahakyan in which the past of historical Armenia is presented as not only a memoir, but also as an axis shaping the ideological, spiritual and national image.
“The memoir of Avetik Isahakyan seems to be a textbook about the history of Armenian new literature; through memories, the poet portrayed the commemorative portraits of the largest figures in Armenian literature of the late 19th century and the 20th century, shared stories about his meetings and friendly talks with them,” PhD student Hovhannes Sargsyan remarked.
Dean of the Faculty Ashot Galstyan summed up the scientific conference, touching upon the linguistic-stylistic layers of the poem “Abu-Lala Mahari” and providing an overview of the masterpiece of Armenian literature that is based on philosophy and presenting the tragedy of the individual in the poem (written with a special prosodical trick) as an expression of condensation of universal pain and suffering.
Ashot Galstyan expressed gratitude to the administration of the Museum for the warm hospitality in the house of the writer, and to tour guide Lilit Avetisyan for presenting the materials of the Museum properly and beautifully.
“True, this house is very spiritual, but today, it became very spiritual and was inspired. Isahakyan would always say man must live in such a way that he leaves behind two names — one to take and the other to leave behind. Today, it was confirmed once again that he left a name and lived as a legend, who was very loved by the people,” Director of the Museum Karine Virabyan stated, adding that Isahakyan toured the world with a stick in his hand, learned and gained world recognition, but remained popular, loved, and the people referred to him as Master.
