Books

A History of Armenian Women’s Writing, 1880-1922

A History of Armenian Women’s Writing, 1880-1922

Victoria Rowe

London: Gomidas Institute, 2009,
292 pp.,
ISBN 978-1-903656-78-5, paperback,
UK£18.00 / US$25.00
To order please contact books@gomidas.org




A History of Armenian Women’s Writing, 1880-1922 explores the literary output of six Armenian women writers - Srpouhi Dussap (1841-1901), Sibyl (1863-1934), Mariam Khatisian (1845-1914), Marie Beylerian (1880-1915), Shushanik Kurghinian (1876-1927) and Zabel Yesayian (1878-1942) - within the context of the Armenian intellectual and cultural movement known as the Zartonk (Awakening) in the waning days of the Ottoman and Russian Empires. In addition to analyses of each author’s contribution to the pressing issues of the day, including women’s rights, national development and the problem of state-sponsored violence, the volume provides biographical information on each writer and examines the cultural institutions-the school, the periodical press, the philanthropic organization, and the salon-which made Armenian women’s entry into the literary and intellectual spheres possible.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Victoria Rowe specializes in Armenian literary history and gender studies. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Toronto, Canada upon completion of her doctoral thesis: "The ‘New Armenian Woman’: Armenian Women’s Writing in the Ottoman Empire, 1880-1915.” Her articles on Armenian literary history and gender have appeared in numerous academic journals. She is the editor of translations of the works of Shushanik Kurghinian and Zabel Yesayian and has translated Inga Nalbandian’s Your Brother’s Blood Cries Out (Gomidas Institute, 2007). She has taught Armenian literature at universities in Canada and Japan and is currently co-editor of Journal of Armenian History and Literature.

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