Armenian Poet Vahan Tekeyan

On January 21, 1878, Armenian poet Vahan Tekeyan was born in the Ortagyugh district of Constantinople.

Tekeyan is one of the few Armenian writers of that time who, having survived the genocide, did not lose faith in the future and praised the ideas of heroism in their works. In the rich world of Armenian poetry, the works of Vahan Tekeyan stand out for their unique and powerful motifs.

Tekeyan received primary education in the Nersisyan, Perperian, and Central Schools in Constantinople. Since 1896, he has lived abroad (including in Liverpool, Marseille, and Hamburg). For a long time, he has lived in Cairo where he founded the periodical Shirak in 1905.

After the fall of the regime of Abdul Hamid in the Ottoman Empire, Tekeyan returned to Constantinople. Throughout the following years, he has been a prominent public figure in the city.

Since 1914, Tekeyan has happened to for some time stay in Egypt, which allowed him to avoid the bloody events of WWI (including the Armenian Genocide).

Tekeyan’s first poetic collection “Meditations” was published in 1901 in Paris. He would publish several other collections, including “Wonderful Sunday”, “From Midnight to Dawn”, “Love”, and “Armenian Songs”, as well as write the novel “If The Lord Pleases”. Tekeyan’s lyric poetry also is a peculiar combination of symbolism and romanticism. Additionally, Tekeyan has been active in publishing.

Vahan Tekeyan died on April 4, 1945, and was buried in the Armenian cemetery in Cairo.            

westernarmeniatv.com