Kevork Vartani Ajemian (''Adjemian'') (in

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

Գևորգ Աճեմյան, in

Western Armenian Western Armenian ( Classical spelling: , ) is one of the two standardized forms of Modern Armenian, the other being Eastern Armenian. It is based mainly on the Istanbul Armenian dialect, as opposed to Eastern Armenian, which is mainly base ...

Գէորգ Աճեմեան) (May 23, 1932 – December 27, 1998) was a prominent

Lebanese-Armenian The Armenians in Lebanon ( hy, Լիբանանահայեր, translit=Libananahayer; ar, الأرمن في لبنان; french: Arméniens du Liban) are Lebanese citizens of Armenian descent. There has been an Armenian presence in Lebanon for centur ...

writer, journalist, novelist, theorist and public activist, and long-time publisher of the

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

-based literary, artistic and general publication '' Spurk'' (in

Սփիւռք). Ajemian was a co-founder of the

Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) was a militant organization active between 1975 and the 1990s whose stated goal was "to compel the Turkish Government to acknowledge publicly its responsibility for the Armenian genocide ...

(ASALA) military organization.

Biography

Ajemian was born in

Manbij Manbij ( ar, مَنْبِج, Manbiǧ, ku, مەنبج, Minbic, tr, Münbiç, Menbic, or Menbiç) is a city in the northeast of Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria, 30 kilometers (19 mi) west of the Euphrates. In the 2004 census by the Cen ...

, near Aleppo, Syria, into a family of survivors of the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily through t ...

, originally from Sasun. He studied in Aleppo, then in 1952 he moved to

. Ajemian graduated from the American University of Beirut in 1958. He taught Armenian and English language and literature in some Armenian schools of Beirut and Cyprus for a few years. He was the editor of '' The Daily Star'' in Beirut, contributed to ''Shirak'' and ''Graser'' Armenian literary magazines. He was a regular contributor to Spurk'', which he edited for a short time in 1965 and then from 1975-1978. He later published three issues as a yearbook from 1985-1998. A representative of the new generation of

Armenian Diaspora The Armenian diaspora refers to the communities of Armenians outside Armenia and other locations where Armenians are considered an indigenous population. Since antiquity, Armenians have established communities in many regions throughout the world. ...

n writers of the 1960s, Ajemian wrote both in Armenian and in English, and his books were published in

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

Soviet Armenia The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic,; russian: Армянская Советская Социалистическая Республика, translit=Armyanskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respublika) also commonly referred to as Soviet A ...

and the United States. Ajemian "has been acclaimed as a powerful intellectual voice in Armenian freedom movements as his works express the longing, rootlessness, and despair of diasporan peoples everywhere". As a novelist he experimented with modern forms and postsurrealist techniques. According to "The Book Buyer's Guide" (1969), in his first English novel ''Symphony in Discord'', Ajemian, "a well-known Armenian author takes a look and a laugh at life in an unusually provocative study". His ''Ruling over the Ruins'' novel is a love story of a bright young Irish journalist and an aging Armenian lawyer marooned together in war-ravaged Beirut. According to Kari S. Neely, Ajemian's writings in both Armenian and English are more like philosophical tracks than fiction and his "writing style, perhaps like his lifestyle, is aggressive and direct, never mincing words". They overtly deal with themes of diaspora's identity. In his ''A Perpetual Path'' novel Ajemian points the finger "inwardly to the Armenian people, blaming them for their past calamities". Even the violence is necessary to assert your rights, because no one is going to give them to you willingly. Ajemian was one of the founders of

ASALA Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) was a militant organization active between 1975 and the 1990s whose stated goal was "to compel the Turkish Government to acknowledge publicly its responsibility for the Armenian genocide ...

and developed the policy of the organization. One of the most famous novels of Ajemian, ''The Descendants of Milky Way'' ("''Hartkoghi zharankortnere''"), is dedicated to the life of the Armenian youth in

of the 1970s. In another novel by Ajemian, "A Time for Terror" (1997), the story concerns an attempt to assassinate the head of the Armenian Liberation Army in 1980s Beirut. In 1997 the book was discussed at

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

radio. In 1979 Ajemian took part in the First Armenian Congress Organizing Committee (

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

). He died in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

, France, aged 66. In 1999, a collection of the best journalistic works of Ajemian was published by ASALA.

Selected bibliography

In English

*''Symphony in Discord'', novel,

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, 1961, 128 p., *''The Fallacy of Modern Politics'', politological research,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, 1986, 199 p., *''A Time for Terror'', novel,

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, 1997, 196 p. *"Ruling over the Ruins", novel, United States, 1999, 262 p..

In Armenian

*''Impossible Story'',

, 1956, *''Unsafe Streets'',

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and i ...

, 1968, 375 p., *''The Only Decision'',

, 1972, 199 p., *''A Speech for the Road'', 1999, 349 p. *''The Complete Works in Armenian'', Vol I-V, Yerevan, 2012-2018«ՍՓԻՒՌՔ» ԳԻՏԱՈՒՍՈՒՄՆԱԿԱՆ ԿԵՆՏՐՈՆԻ ԱՄԲՈՂՋԱԿԱՆ ՀՐԱՏԱՐԱԿՈՒԹԻՒՆԸ. ԳԷՈՐԳ ԱՃԵՄԵԱՆ/ 05 Հոկտեմբեր 2018
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References

External links

Kevork AjemianAjemian at Amazon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ajemian, Kevork 1932 births 1998 deaths Syrian people of Armenian descent People from Manbij District Lebanese writers Syrian emigrants to France 20th-century Armenian writers French male writers Lebanese people of Armenian descent 20th-century French male writers