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Raphael Patkanian

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Raphael Patkanian
Born(1830-11-20)20 November 1830
Nakhichevan-on-Don, Russian Empire
Died7 September 1892(1892-09-07) (aged 61)
Nakhichevan-on-Don, Russian Empire
Pen nameGamar Katipa
Occupationwriter
Patkanian's (left) and Mikayel Nalbandian's graves in Nor Nakhijevan

Raphael Patkanian (Armenian: Ռափայէլ Պատկանեան,[a] 20 November [O.S. 8 November] 1830 – 7 September [O.S. 26 August] 1892), also known by the penname Gamar Katipa (Գամառ Քաթիպա),[b] was a nineteenth-century Russian Armenian writer and educator. He was born into a noted family of Armenian intellectuals in Nakhichevan-on-Don and began writing in his student years. He gained popularity for his poetry, much of which is written on patriotic themes.

Biography

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Patkanian was born on 20 November [O.S. 8 November] 1830 in Nakhichevan-on-Don (now within Rostov-on-Don), Russia,[3] into a noted family of intellectuals. His grandfather, Serovbe Patkanian [hy], was a poet and educator, and his father, Gabriel [hy], was a clergyman, author and social activist.[1] He was the first cousin of scholar Kerovbe Patkanian.[4] He began his education in the private school founded by his father, then attended the Lazarev Institute in Moscow from 1843 to 1849. Before graduating, he moved to Tiflis with his father, who had been appointed principal of the Nersisian School. He continued his education at the universities of Dorpat (1851–52), Moscow (1852–1854), and Saint Petersburg (1855–60), finally graduating from the latter, having specialized in Oriental studies.[1]

Patkanian published his first poems in the weekly Ararat, which was founded and edited by his father. While he was in Moscow, he formed a literary club with two fellow students, Gevorg Kananian and Minas (or Mnatsakan) Timurian, which they named Gamar Katipa, an acronym formed from the first letters of their given names and the first syllables of their surnames.[5] Patkanian later adopted Gamar Katipa as a penname.[6] The group published its first pamphlet in 1855. Their literary philosophy was expressed in the motto "Write as you speak; speak as you write." By 1857, the group had published four more pamphlets, most of them authored by Patkanian. He published works in several periodicals starting in 1860. In 1863, he founded his own journal, Hyusis, which ceased publication after one year.[5] He published his first collection of poems (Gamar’-K’at’ipayi banasteghtsut’yunk’ë, Poems of Gamar Katipa)[6] in 1864 to widespread acclaim. This was followed by a pause in his literary career, but by then he was already a well-known author.[7] He moved back to Nakhichevan-on-Don in 1866 and dedicated himself to writing and pedagogy, working as a teacher at the local parish school. In 1879, he helped found a vocational school for impoverished children. He served as its director until his death in 1892.[5]

Work

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Patkanian wrote poetry, as well as novels, short stories, memoirs, textbooks, and children's songs and poems. His poems are mostly written in the vernacular language.[8] Some of his works are written in his native Nakhichevan-on-Don dialect.[9] His first poems are about merrymaking and youth, but he soon shifted to the topic of the struggles of the Armenian people. He sought to use his poetry to promote patriotic ideals and to advance the cause of the enlightenment and liberation of his nation.[1] Like many other Armenian writers of his time, he believed in the social utility of literature and emphasized this over artistic form.[10] Two of his poems which have enjoyed lasting popularity are "Arak’si artasuk’ë" (The tears of the Araxes) and "Vardan Mamikoneani mahë" (The death of Vardan Mamikonian), both written on patriotic themes. The first poem is a dialogue between the poet and the river, personified as the mother of the Armenian people who is lamenting the suffering of her children. In Kevork Bardakjian's view, the poem achieves an "intimate dynamism" and combines feelings of grief and loss with an unsaid optimism.[7] The second work is an epic poem has the fifth-century Battle of Avarayr between the Armenians and the Persians as its subject.[11] The section of the poem "Vardan's Song," which calls on Armenians to rise up against their oppressors, is particularly popular.[7]

His second collection of poems, Azat yerger (Free songs, 1878), was written in reaction to Ottoman atrocities during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878.[11] He was one of the first Armenian authors to highlight the suffering of the Ottoman Armenians in Muş and Van as conditions for Armenians in the Ottoman Empire worsened. Like his predecessors Khachatur Abovian and Mikayel Nalbandian and his successor Raffi, he called on Armenians to engage in self-defense. His poems written after the Russo-Turkish War reflect the disappointment that dominated among Armenians, as the goal of achieving reforms in Ottoman Armenia now seemed impossible. In his poem "Boghok’ ar’ Yevropa," (Protest to Europe), he strongly condemned the indifference of the European powers to the plight of the Armenians.[7] In some of his other patriotic poems, Patkanian criticized Armenian clergymen for promoting inaction and those who were apathetic to national issues.[7] Patkanian also wrote short stories and satirical works in his native dialect on social issues within the Armenian community.[12] In these works, he depicted social and political abuses, immoral merchants and priests, and a decadent youth.[9] His collected works were published in Yerevan in eight volumes from 1963 to 1974.[8]

Reception

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Patkanian's poetry made him one of the leading Armenian poets for several decades.[10] His younger contemporary Alexander Shirvanzade described him as "the sole popularized Armenian lyrical poet of his time," noting that his "Arak’si artasuk’ë" and "Boghok’ ar’ Yevropa" were sung and recited "on stages, in homes and everywhere that there was a handful of Armenians." Some even dubbed him "the poet of all Armenians,"[c] an epithet that was later more famously attributed to Hovhannes Tumanyan. The Russian poet Valery Bryusov also valued Patkanian's poetry, seeing its main strength in its "intense patriotism, unfailing dedication to [his] native people, which is expressed not only through odes, but also through bitter satire."[13] In Bardakjian's view, "[a]lthough too many of [Patkanian's] poems read like rhymed speeches, his sincere and emotional patriotic appeal resonated with the prevailing mood."[10] Meri Saghian calls him "one of the founders of Armenian civic poetry" (poetry that deals with social and political issues).[12]

Notes

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  1. ^ Reformed orthography: Ռափայել Պատկանյան. Also spelled Rafayel,[1] Rapayel.[2]
  2. ^ Also spelled Kamar Katiba after the Western Armenian pronunciation
  3. ^ The epithet (amenayn hayots’ banasteghts) is a play on the title of the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Catholicos of All Armenians.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Hacikyan, Agop Jack; Basmajian, Gabriel; Franchuk, Edward S.; Ouzounian, Nourhan (2005). The Heritage of Armenian Literature, Volume III: From the Eighteenth Century to Modern Times. Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University Press. p. 316. ISBN 0-8143-3221-8.
  2. ^ Hairapetian, Srbouhi (1995). A History of Armenian Literature: From Ancient Times to the Nineteenth Century. Caravan Books. p. 357. ISBN 978-0-88206-059-0.
  3. ^ Muradyan, Samvel (2021). Hay nor grakanutʻyan patmutʻyun: Usumnakan dzeṛnark Հայ նոր գրականության պատմություն․ Ուսումնական ձեռնարկ [History of modern Armenian literature: Educational guide] (PDF) (in Armenian). Vol. 1. Yerevan State University Publishing House. p. 304. ISBN 978-5-8084-2500-2.
  4. ^ Tigranov, Gr. (1902). "Patkanov, Keropė Petrovich". In Polovtsov, A. A. (ed.). Russkīi bīograficheskīi slovarʹ Русскій бiографическій словарь [Russian Biographical Dictionary] (in Russian). Vol. 13. Saint Petersburg: Tip. I. N. Skorokhodova. pp. 369–371.
  5. ^ a b c Hacikyan et al. 2005, pp. 316–317.
  6. ^ a b Bardakjian, Kevork B. (2000). A Reference Guide to Modern Armenian Literature 1500-1920. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. p. 460. ISBN 0-8143-2747-8.
  7. ^ a b c d e Bardakjian 2000, p. 140.
  8. ^ a b Hacikyan et al. 2005, p. 318.
  9. ^ a b Bardakjian 2000, p. 140–141.
  10. ^ a b c Bardakjian 2000, p. 139.
  11. ^ a b Hacikyan et al. 2005, p. 317.
  12. ^ a b Saghian, M. (1983). "Patkanyan Rapʻayel Gabrieli". In Arzumanian, Makich (ed.). Haykakan sovetakan hanragitaran Հայկական սովետական հանրագիտարան [Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia] (in Armenian). Vol. 9. Erevan: Haykakan hanragitarani glkhavor khmbagrutʻyun. pp. 151-152.
  13. ^ Muradyan 2021, pp. 303–304.
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