【Yeghiazaryan, Azat】 The Armenian Epic in Armenian Culture
    

 Yeghiazaryan, Azat (Armenia)

  What do we mean when we talk about the epic tradition in modern societies? Firstly we should underline the fact that every national culture has its own traditions. For example, in European cultures epics became merely books for scholars. In other cultures lacking long literary traditions the epics maintained their original significance in national cultures. This is also true of the Armenian case though Armenian culture has a literary tradition with more than a 1,500-year history.

  But the Armenian oral epic was transcribed only at the end of the 19th century. Consequently it entered into the sphere of literature only one and half centuries ago. But it immediately achieved an important position in Armenian culture and in the intellectual and spiritual life of the Armenian people. The most famous poets, such as Hovannes Tumanyan, Avetik Isahakyan, Eghishe Charents, and others wrote poems on the themes of the epic. In these poems they addressed the most important problems relating to folk life. In this way the epic has become a sort of textbook for the Armenians. Sometimes they discuss their modern political problems in terms of the structures of the epic. Nor can you argue that this tendency is something naïve. Indeed Armenian intellectuals consider the epic as a condensation of the national experience and national character. Though it cannot always be reconciled with modernity, it remains interesting and instructive.

  About the speaker

  Yeghiazaryan, Azat, born in 1943,Doctor of Sciences at the M. Abeghayan Institute of Literature in Armenian National Academy of Sciences.He serves as Director of the Institute of Humanities, Russian-Armenian /Slavick/ University; Head of Armenian language and literature chair, Russia- Armenian (Slavic) University; also as Visiting professor, UCLA, University of California at Berkley, Michigan University /Ann Arbor/, Chicago University, Pennsylvania University, USA, Oxford University, UK since 2002.He has 14 publications include Organ of History. Yeghishe Charents. Tigran Mets, Yerevan, 2007; Daredevils of Sasun. Poetics of an Epic. Mazda, USA, 2008; This Skilled, Genius Man from Lory. About the Works of Hovhannes Tumanyan. Nairy, Yerevan, 2009; and six textbooks of literature for Armenian schools and other publications, more than 100 in all.