Tumanyan Hovhannes

Hovhannes Tumanyan (b. February 19, 1869, Dsegh, Lori Province, present-day Tumanyan district – d. March 23, 1923, Moscow), Armenian writer and public figure. He received his primary education in the village. From 1879 to 1883, he went to a school in Jalaloghly (present-day Stepanavan) and then he studied at the Nersisian School in Tbilisi (he could not graduate from the latter due to lack of funds). He was passionate about learning so he continued to study on his own. In 1886, he entered the literary arena. Some of his earlier works include: Shunn u katun (The Dog and the Cat), Anpakhd Vajaraganner (The Unlucky Merchants) (both, 1886). Tumanyan was a versatile creator. He wrote poems, short stories, fairy tales, parables, ballads. His works reflect the socio-psychological conflicts characteristic of Armenian reality, the morals and customs of the people, and the past and present of the Armenian people. His best poems are: Anush (1890, published in 1892), Maro (1887, published in 1892), T’mkaberdi ar’umë (The Capture of Tmkaberd) (1902, published in 1905); he created the poem Sasunts’i Davit’ (David of Sassoun) (1902) based on Armenian heroic tales. Tumanyan's many ballads and fairy tales based on plots from Armenian and Eastern legends are widely known (Mi kat’il meghr (A Drop of Honey), published in 1909; K’aj Nazar (Nazar the Brave), 1908, published in 1912, etc.). Tumanyan's short stories (Gik’or, 1898; published in 1907, etc.) are the best examples of Armenian prose.

Tumanyan was a dedicated and passionate defender of the brotherhood and friendship of the Georgian and Armenian peoples. He created many poems on this topic: Hashtutyun (Reconciliation) (1893),Vrastani masin (About Georgia) (1916), Vrats hogin (The Soul of Georgia) (1919), Vrats banasteghtsnerin (To the Poets of Georgia) (1919) and etc. A number of his works were translated into Georgian by I. Grishashvili (H. Tumanyan, Selected Writings, Tbilisi, 1924).

Literary works: რჩეული ნაწერები, თბ., 1956; ლექსები და პოემები, თბ., 1969.

Literature: არველაძე ბ., ოვანეს თუმანიანი და საქართველო, თბ., 1969; ლაიშვილი ნ., ოვანეს თუმანიანი ქართულად (ანოტირებული ბიბლიოგრაფიული საძიებელი), თბ., 1973; Ганаланян О. Т., Очерки армянской поэзии XIX–XX веков 2 изд., Ер., 1964.

 

B. Arveladze