On this day - Jun. 17, 1971: Armenia's favorite poet, the voice of a nation, Paruyr Sevak died

“I have again become naive,
I believe in right and justice,
And it does seem to me that I
Shall die my own... natural death.” 

From “Let There Be Light,” translated by Alice Ezegelyan. 

(Graphic: by h-pem)

Born as Paruyr Ghazaryan, Armenia’s beloved poet, translator and literary critic adopted the name Sevak in honor of Ruben Sevak, the Western Armenian poet who was killed during the Armenian Genocide, and went on to write “Unsilenceable Belfry,” a masterpiece dedicated to Komitas Vardapet, the Armenian composer who fell apart after witnessing the horrors of the massacres. 

In his quintessential travelogue, “The Crossing Place: A Journey among the Armenians,” Philip Marsden writes: "Looking at the road, I could understand the suspicion surrounding Sevak's death. There were no obstacles or bends; it was a straight, wide-open bit of road, an empty place. I don't suppose the truth of Sevak's death will ever be known."

Sevak dared revive the Armenian national spirit beyond the Iron Curtain of the Soviet Union. In books like “The Immortals are Commanding”, “Let There Be Light,” and “Man in a Palm,” he delivers a plethora of poems that tackle themes of justice, cultural identity, redemption, and love, in a highly down-to-earth and expressive style.

At h-pem we honor the bard’s memory with quotes and images from his house museum in Zangakatun, where his tomb has become a pilgrimage site for his devotees.