Vahan Totovents
Encyclopedia
Vahan Hovhannesi Totovents was an Armenia
n writer, poet and public activist.
(modern Turkey
). He studied in Armenia and Istanbul
, then at Wisconsin University which he finished in 1915.
He was a volunteer in Caucasian front during World War I
, and served as the bodyguarder, translator and secretary of General Andranik Ozanian, about whom he wrote memoires and published them in 1920. In Tbilisi
Totovents edited "Hayastan" paper, the official organ of Andranik.
Since 1922 he lived in Yerevan
, Soviet Armenia. In 1937 he became a victim of Stalinism
.
A prolific and multi-faceted writer, Vahan Totovents (1889-1937) produced with equal facility poems in prose and verse, short stories, novellas, novels, critical and biographical works, comedies, dramas, translations from Shakespeare, and a widely read and admired autobiographical work titled Life on the Old Roman Road. Writes Rouben Zarian in his reminiscences of Totovents: "He wrote fast. He had no trouble finding the right word. His sentences flowed with ease. He didn't try to achieve perfection, only spontaneity. He had something to say and he said it. He was never idle. A born writer and a reporter by training, he never waited for inspiration. And since his urge to write came from deep within and was irresistible, sentences and paragraphs followed one another with phenomenal speed."
Totovents was born in Mezre, a small town on the Euphrates in the province of Kharpert, where he studied under such masters of Armenian prose as Telgadinstsi and Rouben Zartarian. In his youth he traveled extensively in the Middle East, Europe, and the United States. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin, he fought as a volunteer in the Caucasus during World War I. "I wanted to see my country liberated," he writes in his autobiographical sketch. "I saw instead its total destruction, and torrents of my countrymen's blood. I saw human suffering of such depth that there can be nothing deeper in this world. I saw nights gorged with blood. I saw men crazed by hunger; I saw bloodthirsty mobs attacking innocent men, women, and children, and I heard the howls of their terrified victims." Another two years (1920-22) of wandering followed - Istanbul, Paris, New York, whence he returned to Yerevan and where, in addition to over a dozen books, he published countless essays and articles in newspapers and periodicals. Criticized for failing to produce works with "proletarian" content, Totovents refused to conform and was eventually arrested and exiled to Siberia. Very little is known about his last years. Sarepig Manoogian, his official biographer, simply informs us that Totovents "died at the height of his creative powers leaving behind many unfinished projects..."
From Ara Baliozian's "The Armenians: Their History & Culture"
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
n writer, poet and public activist.
Biography
Vahan Totovents was born in KharpertElazig
Elâzığ is a city in Eastern Anatolia, Turkey and the seat of Elâzığ Province. It has a population of331,479 according to the 2010 census, and the plain on which the city extends has an altitude of 1067 metres....
(modern Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
). He studied in Armenia and Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, then at Wisconsin University which he finished in 1915.
He was a volunteer in Caucasian front during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, and served as the bodyguarder, translator and secretary of General Andranik Ozanian, about whom he wrote memoires and published them in 1920. In Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
Totovents edited "Hayastan" paper, the official organ of Andranik.
Since 1922 he lived in Yerevan
Yerevan
Yerevan is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously-inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country...
, Soviet Armenia. In 1937 he became a victim of Stalinism
Stalinism
Stalinism refers to the ideology that Joseph Stalin conceived and implemented in the Soviet Union, and is generally considered a branch of Marxist–Leninist ideology but considered by some historians to be a significant deviation from this philosophy...
.
A prolific and multi-faceted writer, Vahan Totovents (1889-1937) produced with equal facility poems in prose and verse, short stories, novellas, novels, critical and biographical works, comedies, dramas, translations from Shakespeare, and a widely read and admired autobiographical work titled Life on the Old Roman Road. Writes Rouben Zarian in his reminiscences of Totovents: "He wrote fast. He had no trouble finding the right word. His sentences flowed with ease. He didn't try to achieve perfection, only spontaneity. He had something to say and he said it. He was never idle. A born writer and a reporter by training, he never waited for inspiration. And since his urge to write came from deep within and was irresistible, sentences and paragraphs followed one another with phenomenal speed."
Totovents was born in Mezre, a small town on the Euphrates in the province of Kharpert, where he studied under such masters of Armenian prose as Telgadinstsi and Rouben Zartarian. In his youth he traveled extensively in the Middle East, Europe, and the United States. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin, he fought as a volunteer in the Caucasus during World War I. "I wanted to see my country liberated," he writes in his autobiographical sketch. "I saw instead its total destruction, and torrents of my countrymen's blood. I saw human suffering of such depth that there can be nothing deeper in this world. I saw nights gorged with blood. I saw men crazed by hunger; I saw bloodthirsty mobs attacking innocent men, women, and children, and I heard the howls of their terrified victims." Another two years (1920-22) of wandering followed - Istanbul, Paris, New York, whence he returned to Yerevan and where, in addition to over a dozen books, he published countless essays and articles in newspapers and periodicals. Criticized for failing to produce works with "proletarian" content, Totovents refused to conform and was eventually arrested and exiled to Siberia. Very little is known about his last years. Sarepig Manoogian, his official biographer, simply informs us that Totovents "died at the height of his creative powers leaving behind many unfinished projects..."
From Ara Baliozian's "The Armenians: Their History & Culture"
Works
The works of Totovents were published from 1907. He is the author of Doctor Burbonian (1918), Death battalion (1923), New York (1927), Baku (v. 1-3, 1930-34), Jonathan, Son of Jeremiah novels, stories and dramas. He influenced to Armenian literature especially by his Life on the Old Roman Road autobiographical novel (1930, A piece of sky film by Henrik Malian) which "reflect the society, culture, and mores not only of the Armenians of his childhood but also of their neighbors in the waning days of the Ottoman Empire".in English
- Scenes from an Armenian Childhood, 1962, NY: Oxford University Press, 182 p.,
- Tell Me, Bella (a Selection of Stories), 1972, 127 p., ISBN 0903039060,
- Jonathan, Son of Jeremiah (Mashtots paperbacks), 1985, 68 p., ISBN 0903039168,
- Pigeon Fancier, 1994, 66 p., ISBN 0903039184.
External links
- Vahan Totovents (1893-1938) Présentation de ses mémoires sur le Général Antranik (in French)
- Totovents at Amazon.com