[DIASPORA PRINTING IN ALEPPO / ARMENIAN POETRY] Թուղթ առ Երեւան / Tught ar Yerevan (Matenashar "Nayiri” 2) [i.e., Letter to Yerevan]

DZARUKIAN, ANDRANIK (1913-1989).

[Tparan Nayiri], Halêp [Aleppo], 1946.

Modern black cloth with original front cover mounted on the front board. Large demy 8vo. (22,5 x 15,5 cm). In Armenian. [129]-185 pp. Several light wormholes, slight marginal foxing on pages, chipping extremities. Overall, a good copy.

Exceedingly rare early edition of this poetry book by a deported Armenian to Aleppo from Sivas (the Ottoman Empire). 

The poems in this book republished more than a dozen times in various Armenian communities -including in Syria, the United States, Lebanon, and Cyprus -up until the early 1990s, and as a result became a source of inspiration for tens of thousands. 

The book was printed in the Nayiri Printing House in Aleppo. Through the same printing house, Dzarukian also published the Nayiri Newspaper, a monthly magazine, between the years of 1945-1952 in Aleppo where he was deported to during the 1915 Armenian Deportation by Ottoman authorities. Then Dzarukian moved to Beirut, where he continued to publish the magazine weekly (1952-1983).

“Dzarugian was an influential diasporan Armenian writer, poet, educator, and journalist in the 20th century. He was born in Gürün, Sivas Vilayet, Ottoman Empire in 1913. He was related to Chello Toros (1871-1893), one of the fighters of the Armenian irregular units against the Ottoman Empire. During the years of the Armenian genocide, Dzarugian separated from his mother because of the death marches in the Syrian desert and spent his childhood in the Armenian Orphanage of Aleppo. In 1921, he met his mother in Aleppo and moved to the local Haygazian Armenian School to receive his elementary education. In the same year, his father was arrested and killed in the Marash prison for his participation in the patriotic movement against the Ottoman Empire.

After completing his elementary schooling in Aleppo, Dzarugian moved to Beirut to complete his education at the newly opened Armenian College. Among his teachers in the college were prominent Armenian educators such as Nikol Aghbalian and Levon Shant. He became a dropout and later started his career as a teacher in the Armenian schools of Aleppo and Beirut. He says that his writings are influenced by Siamanto and Daniel Varoujian.

Dzarugian visited Soviet Armenia for the first time in 1956. His impressions of his frequent trips to the homeland were reflected in his books "Old Dreams, New Paths" in 1958 and “New Armenia, New Armenians" in 1983.” (Wikipedia).

As of May 2024, OCLC locates sole copy in Harvard University’s Library (35204911).