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A poet from Karabakh
Travel Life
During some research for an article on Nagorno-Karabakh, I came across a poet I hadn’t known before.
His name is Vazgen Ohanjanian, better known by his pen name, Ovyan. He was born in a small village in the Nagorno-Karabakh region called Dashushen, near Stepanakert (today Khankendi). He was a poet, playwright, and publicist, and later became a member of the Union of Writers of the Soviet Union. He also served as director of the regional House of Culture in Stepanakert.
He wrote numerous poems dedicated to Karabakh, as well as theatrical works, including The Great Loretsi, devoted to the Armenian poet Hovhannes Tumanyan.
Below, I would like to share one of his poems, translated from Armenian by Lilly Torosyan. It is particularly dear to me because it portrays a region that has left an indelible mark on my life—Nagorno-Karabakh.
I found out there is a whole website dedicated to his memory: https://vazgenovyan.blogspot.com/
The legend of the mountains (1962)
These mountains tell me legends
About the unwavering will of the Karabakhtsi*,
Ancient legends from centuries past
Have reached us and become songs in our souls.
These mountains have been rock and fortress,
Each cliff, an army against the foe
They’ve been my trees, the bridled horses,
The ground has sighed below their feet.
Here, near the mountain of Forty Virgins
The trace remains of a brave lion,
Traversing these mountains and rocky gorges,
Davit Bek's** cavalry raids.
And they've drawn their swords wide
These impregnable mountains roar,
Like a sliver fallen out of the wind’s mouth
The treacherous Qajar*** rolled off this cliff.
These mountains tell me legends
About the unwavering will of the Karabakhtsi,
Ancient legends from centuries past
Have reached us and become songs in our souls.